Becoming a Master: My Pokemon Journey
by jmoul18
Summary: <html><head></head>An eighteen year old boy looks back on his marvelous journey that made him champion of the American League. This has an original region, original trainers, and an original take on how attacks are performed.</html>


Becoming a Master:

My Pokémon Journey

By

Jordan Moul

This story is told from a first person account, and it combines elements of the Pokémon manga, anime, Origins series, and games. It also contains a slightly more real-world approach to the criminal organization. I am using my own name for the sake of simplicity, I don't feel like creating a new character. If the descriptions given are insufficient, go to any search engine and search for the Pokémon's name to get a better idea of each Pokémon's appearance.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: All rights to the Pokémon franchise are owned by Nintendo and GameFreak. I do not know, nor do I ever plan on owning any rights to Pokémon. Having said that, please enjoy my lengthy Pokémon fanfiction.

FAIR WARNING: This fanfiction is long enough to be considered a novel if it were legally allowed to be published. You may want to favorite it while you read it, as it may take a while.

Prologue

I stood at the base of Mount Creshlington, the tallest mountain in the entire world. My shirt blew back in the wind while I was lost in thought. I was thinking of whether I should turn back and be content with my achievements, or if I should make the climb to the top, which is considered the greatest challenge for a trainer and their Pokémon. It had taken me nearly eight years to get to this point. I had just recently won the title of Kalos League Champion, adding to my list of Champion titles in every known Pokémon region, but I wanted something more. On top of the mountain I stood by was the headquarters of the League of Pokémon Masters, and only those who had defeated every league in the world were invited to join, and for their final test, the inductees had to scale this mountain. While I had once battled alongside the members of this group in one of the most important battles of my life, I was still nervous. If I became a member of the League of Pokémon Masters, I would have to battle with every day to keep myself and my team at their best. I still remained unsure whether I wanted that life, so I hesitated to start the climb.

I was so deep in thought that I almost didn't notice as Swampert came out of his Pokéball. I realized when I saw my first Pokémon that I must have been more troubled by the decision than I realized. Swampert's eyes, however, held no judgment or swaying. Rather, they showed a kind of wisdom and understanding that said no matter what I chose, he and the rest of my Pokémon would stay by me no matter what. Looking at Swampert for that moment brought back memories, and it caused me to look back at how my journey had begun in the American League, and I realized just how life-changing my journey had been.

Ch. 1

It all started when I awoke to the sound of a flock of Pidgey chirping at about seven in the morning on my eighteenth birthday, and one of the most beautiful days of the year in Bath Town, a small town of about two-hundred people located in the American Region. It was the day I had waited for my whole life: the day I could become a Pokémon trainer. My name is Jordan Moul. I stand slightly shorter than six feet tall. I have light-brown hair styled into a crew-cut, with brown eyes. I have what many would call sharp, angular features and an athlete's build, resulting from nearly two decades of running, swimming, lifting, and martial arts training. At the time I had been in trainer school for most of my entire life, and I was finally ready to start training my own Pokémon. I showered and got dressed to prepare for the day and the rest of my life.

I walked downstairs to where my bag, packed with my essentials such as food, clothing, and medicines was sitting. I was planning to go to see Professor Isaac with my best friend and agreed travel companion, Sarah, as soon as I could. I had already studied types and abilities of Pokémon for years before, and I had an idea of what Pokémon I would choose for my first, but I had come down to two and couldn't decide on either Mudkip, or Cyndaquil.

Before I go any farther, I should say that my older brother and I are orphans. Our parents died in a car accident when I was fifteen, and my brother was seventeen. We both remained at our parents' house, and Connor had a job to pay for all the bills, although he would never say exactly what he did, other than that he was a Pokémon trainer. My brother had left on his eighteenth birthday for his Pokémon journey, so I had been on my own for a year, with the exception of my brother's occasional visits.

I had just finished my final preparations when Sarah Lubash came to the door. She was about my height with light brown hair, a supple waist, brown eyes and a beautiful face. I had always been interested in her as more than a friend, but, given our age, it didn't seem to be appropriate at the time. She had already firmly decided her first Pokémon was to be a Chikorita. I said goodbye to my mother and went out with my best friend.

"I can't believe this day is finally here," Sarah said. "I can't wait to see my Chikorita in person."

"Yeah, I can't wait either, but I still can't decide. I have always loved Cyndaquil and Mudkip, and I can't go wrong with either one, but I don't want to struggle against the gym leaders."

"Jordan, while this choice is yours alone, all I can say is go with your heart, don't worry about the advantages and disadvantages. Those will come with training and the capture of other Pokémon."

As she said that, my choice became clear, I would pick Mudkip, and I would try to find other fire-types. As I made the choice, we arrived at Professor Isaac's laboratory. He was around forty years old, standing just less than six feet tall. He had brown hair with a cleanly cut beard. He welcomed us with a friendly grin. "Hello Jordan and Sarah, I have been expecting you. I must say, Jordan, you look a lot like Connor now. On the more important matter, however, I trust you both know which Pokémon you would like for your journey."

"Oh, yes. I have been waiting so long to get a Chikorita," Sarah responded.

Isaac turned to me, "And what of you, Jordan? Last I heard you were still deciding on yours."

"I actually wound up making my decision on the way over here, and I know it is the best one for me," I told him.

"Well then, follow me."

We went back with Professor Isaac to the stand where eighteen Pokéballs were sitting out, each one containing one of the fire, grass, or water type starting Pokémon from each of the six other regions. Each Pokéball was about the same size and shape as a normal-sized orange. They had a red top, with a silver-white bottom. Along the equator, there was a single black band of a specialized plastic that converged into a larger circle. That circle wrapped around a single button on the front of the Pokéball. The button was what allowed a Pokéball to work as it did, by transforming the Pokémon into a beam of light and bringing it into the ball itself. What happens inside a Pokéball is uncertain, but most people believe that it shrinks the Pokémon down and places it into its own perfect habitat.

Sarah went to the second table of Pokéballs, which held the Johto region's starter Pokémon: Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Chikorita. She grabbed Chikorita's Pokéball without hesitation, looking very happy with her choice. I went to the Hoenn region table, which had the Pokémon Mudkip, Torchic, and Treeko. I then grabbed Mudkip's Pokéball, knowing that this decision would eventually lead me to my greatest triumph.

Ch. 2

"So, are you happy with your Mudkip?" Sarah asked me while we were leaving Isaac's lab. I had gone to Mudkip's Pokéball without hesitation, and had chosen him as my own. I responded that I was, indeed, pleased. I was more eager than ever to get started, with Mudkip in one Pokéball, five empty Pokéballs on my belt, and my Pokédex in its clip.

As Sarah and I were leaving Bath Town, I heard somebody shouting mine and Sarah's names, and the voice sounded quite familiar. I smiled and turned around to face my older brother coming toward me. He had chosen Charmander as his starter, and had since evolved it into a Charizard and trained it to a terrifying extreme, along with the other five Pokémon in his team.

"Hey, little brother. Hello Sarah. I see you two have just started your journeys. I heard that you hadn't decided who you would start with when you left, Jordan. Tell me that you came to a decision."

I took out Mudkip's Pokéball, and let him out. He was about two inches tall, blue in color, with orange-colored, spiked cheeks, and head and tail fins. Mudkip seemed quite happy to be with me, and even looked eager to go on the journey.

"Ah, you chose Mudkip. Well, it wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's still good. There may still be hope for you to become a decent trainer little brother! You may even beat me one day," he said with a laugh

I chuckled at my brother. I knew he was being nice to me, but I still couldn't resist laughing at the irony of what he had just said. If only he knew how much I had studied all of the Pokémon, what moves they learned, the strengths and weaknesses of each, and when they typically evolved. In short, I had become a battling genius.

I would train Mudkip and all the other Pokémon I captured to be the best they possibly could be in order to become not only the League Champion, but a World Champion as well. Sarah knew my dream, and while she encouraged me every step of the way, I can tell that she doesn't fully believe I can do it. I can't say I blame Sarah for not believing that I can pull it off, because my dream is indeed nearly impossible for anybody, even the best of trainers, but I was determined to prove everybody wrong. "Thanks for stopping by Connor, how is everything going on your adventure?"

"It is all going fantastic, but I need to get going now, I got called for a rematch on Route 50 that I need to take. I just wanted to see my brother off properly on his Pokémon journey." With that, he sent out his Charizard and they flew off to his destination. Charizard looked like an orange, bipedal dragon with clawed hands, green-blue wings and a single, large flame on the tip of his tail. It was an impressive flier to say the least.

Sarah was smiling when I looked back to her. "What?" I asked.

"You still believe that you will catch up to Connor with all the time he has put into his training. It's both inspiring and a little cute at the same time." She shot me a sly wink and then headed out, leaving me surprised at her. I had Mudkip return to his Pokéball, which converted his body into red light and bringing his into the activation index. I then clipped the Pokéball to my belt, and I went out into the wilderness with my best friend.

Ch. 3

It was in the woods that I encountered my first wild Pokémon. I had been walking through the grass, and I came across a Zigzagoon, a tiny raccoon Pokémon. I looked to Sarah, smiled and winked, and sent out Mudkip.

"Mudkip, use Tackle!" I commanded. Mudkip responded with vigor, hitting Zigzagoon hard in the side. Mudkip's attack sent our opponent sprawling, but it quickly got back up and charged at Mudkip. "Dodge that Tackle, and then use Mud-Slap!" Mudkip jumped at the perfect time and once again attacked powerfully, landing a solid hit to Zigzagoon's face. I could tell that the Zigzagoon's eyes were open when the attack landed. "Now finish this with another Tackle!" I shouted. Mudkip hit Zigzagoon face to face this time, knocking Zigzagoon out. Mudkip ran back to me, and we embraced and celebrated our first victory.

"That was amazing," Sarah said. "This is your first time with Mudkip and he obeyed you like you had every badge in the American League."

"Hey, Pokémon seem to gravitate towards me. What can I say?" I said, half-joking

Sarah started looking around for Pokémon to train against. As she was walking, a Ralts came out of the forest and looked directly at Sarah. "I have to catch this Ralts." She said.

"Go for it, you will need a Pokémon that is strong against Poison-types for the first gym."

So Sarah released her Chikorita. It looked prepared to battle. "Alright Chikorita, use Tackle!"

Chikorita charged, slamming into the wild Pokémon. It must have been a hard hit, because the Ralts collapsed quickly. Sarah then threw a Pokéball at Ralts. It struck and beamed the Pokémon in, it rolled around repeatedly until finally coming to a rest, the red glow on the front returning to white. "YES! I caught a Pokémon!" she cheered.

"Great job Sarah, it didn't put up much of a fight. It must have wanted to be captured. Your journey is going better than mine already."

Just as I said that, a man in his mid-thirties, wearing a suit cleared through the brush. He saw the two of us, and came to us. "Oh thank Arceus I found somebody. I am a museum curator and researcher. I was on my way to deliver important research at the Pitt City Museum, then a bandit of some type jumped me. I need your help!"

"What does the bandit look like?" I asked. My question, however, became unnecessary, because the bandit crashed through the brush right after the executive. He was wearing a purple hooded robe with red streaks along the sides.

"I am a member of Team Phoenix, hand over all of your research on Pokémon resurrection," he said. I could see that the man in the suit was distraught, but he looked respectable as well. The bandit had two Pokéballs on his waist, so it was clear that he was a Pokémon trainer, but his demeanor told me he was not just a common thug. So I did what I had to do: I stepped in front of the Phoenix Grunt.

"What the hell are you doing kid? Do you have any idea who you are messing with?"

"I don't care who you are. I'm challenging you to a battle, my one against however many you have. If you lose, you leave. If I lose, you may continue with what you are trying to do. I warn you though; this isn't a battle you can win."

"Jordan, what are you doing?" Sarah whispered in shock. "This guy is seriously dangerous!"

"I won't stand by and let a robbery take place in front of me, sorry Sarah, but my mind is made up."

The thug looked confused, and quite flustered, having clearly not expected this from a new trainer. Then he got a confident look on his face. "Alright, I can tell that you are new to being a trainer, which means you are inexperienced. I get to crush some random kid, and then I can easily complete my mission. So let's do this." He threw a Pokéball from his waist, releasing a fierce looking Poochyena. This Pokémon did not frighten me though. Mudkip leapt out of my arms, ready to battle.

"Poochyena use Howl!" The Grunt shouted. Poochyena began howling then, and it caused the Pokémon to take on a more aggressive demeanor than before. That, however, didn't bother Mudkip or me.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" I cried. Mudkip then launched a blast of water with the force of a fire hose at the Grunt's Poochyena. It only took one shot to knock out my opponent's first Pokémon.

"You got lucky kid. You won't have such luck with my next Pokémon!" With that, the Grunt sent out his last Pokémon, an Anorith. I couldn't believe my eyes, this Pokémon was supposed to be extinct, yet here one was, ready to battle, and looking rather threatening. I still kept my cool.

"Mudkip use Mud Slap, followed quickly by a Water Gun." My commands were followed to the letter. I watched as my Mudkip won quickly over the ancient Pokémon. At that moment, I was filled with pride that I had chosen the right starting Pokémon. The thug was in absolute shock.

"NO! NO! This can't happen. How did YOU defeat me? You're just some unskilled, new trainer! You've only just started out, and yet you beat me in a minute, after I've been training for years!"

"You lost. It doesn't matter how. Now it only matters that you get lost before I lose my temper or call the cops about the attempted robbery." The thug turned pale white at the mention of the police, then turned tail and fled, yelling "You will hear from Team Phoenix again!"

Ch. 4

I turned back around to face Sarah and the man I had just rescued. "Oh, thank you so much young man, you have just saved my ass. I would have been either fired, or injured," the man said.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Jordan Moul. And you are?"

"I am Doctor Keith Brinks. I may have heard your last name before. Are you by chance the brother of Connor Moul?"

"I am indeed, but I don't see him so often anymore. This is my friend, Sarah Lubash."

"Hello Sarah, thank you for all of your help as well. I can tell that you would have done the same that Jordan did for me if you jumped in time."

Sarah smiled and winked at me. She then asked a very serious question. "The bandit said that he wanted your research on Pokémon resurrection, was he honestly after that?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so. He was after the documents I was delivering to Pitt City. It is vital these get there for research purposes."

"Well, Sarah and I are on our way to Carradale, since we are both taking the Pokémon League Challenge," I said. "If you want, we could escort you there in order to protect you from any trouble."

Dr. Brinks gratefully smiled and laughed slightly, "Oh that is quite alright, you two have important training to do before going to Carradale Gym. While you are a great trainer evidently, if you want to beat Trasha, you will need more experience than that under your belts. I will, however, grant you full-time access to the fossil room at the museum in Pitt City if you are interested."

"I suppose it is worth the look, what do you say Sarah?"

"Sure, let's get some more training in, then head to Pitt City's museum." With that, Dr. Brinks smiled, tipped his hat, and left for his destination.

I didn't realize at that time the thug, who I later discovered was named Mike, had been listening to our entire conversation, and had returned to Team Phoenix's lair. He was reporting to the Team's boss as I trained just east of Carradale with Sarah.

Ch. 5

"Tell me again who you battled and why you failed to bring me that research," Emmanuel said, clearly annoyed with Mike's apparent failure. The two were in Emmanuel's office, which was lavishly decorated, and covered with glass display cases holding various ancient Pokémon fossils within them. Emmanuel's desk was made of mahogany, and painted maroon, and was resting on a floor of marble with flawless gemstones imbedded into the floor at every intersection of the tile.

The true sight to behold, however, was Emmanuel, who was nearly sixty years old; he was over six feet tall, with a very muscular build. He also held six Pokéballs on his waist containing multiple, incredibly powerful ancient Pokémon. None of the members of Team Phoenix wanted to challenge him, for fear of losing all pride and dignity in a split second. Emmanuel knew this, and showed that he knew it clearly every day. He held a lit Cuban cigar in his right hand, and wore at gemstone-encrusted ring on his left ring finger. Despite the exquisite ring, he was not a married man. All of his attention went to his work with Team Phoenix.

"I told you, I was right behind Doctor Brinks, and I-I knew he had the files. Just as he cleared the brush, he ran into two teenagers: one guy, one girl. I told Brinks to hand the files over, but the guy stepped between us and challenged me to a battle. He looked like a new trainer, so I agreed to his terms. His Pokémon, a Mudkip, so overpowered both of my Pokémon, and the kid battled with such skill that I lost in only about a minute."

"If he was a rookie, then how in the world was he as good as you say?" Emmanuel asked, his interest was now clearly peaked.

"Well, I ran off, but I climbed a tree and eavesdropped on them. Apparently this kid is the younger brother to Connor Moul!"

Emmanuel looked shocked at this. "Then there is clearly talent in that family. If he was as skilled as you say when he had just started out, then maybe the American League will have an even stronger new Champion on its hands, and us, a really big problem. Who was the girl though?"

"I heard him say her name was Sarah, but she is a nobody. I watched them train after Brinks left, and he is clearly more skilled, but they seem to be great friends. It looked like he is stuck in the friendzone though. It's a pity, she is quite stunning."

"FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM, NOT THE GIRL, YOU BUFFOON!" Emmanuel boomed. Mike quickly refocused, and Emmanuel continued, "I think we have found our way of dealing with this threat. Make it clear to the young Mr. Moul that if he ever tries to stop us again, we will harm Sarah instead of him. Can I trust you with that?"

"Yes sir, you can. I will, however, require some stronger Pokémon to deliver the message more effectively."

"No you don't. Just train yours more, you will be shocked at what actual training does to your Pokémon."

"Yes Sir. I will be on my way now."

"Don't fail me again Mike."

Ch. 6

Sarah and I stood outside the door to Carradale Gym. We had been training for a week, and we knew that we were ready to take this challenge. I had noticed that Mudkip was looking much stronger than before, and was often attempting to rise to a bipedal stance. I didn't think much of it, only that he was getting stronger and was pushing himself.

I looked to Sarah, and smiled. Her Chikorita had evolved into a Bayleef while we were training, since it would not have been smart to battle with it in this gym. Her Ralts was also much stronger than before, now knowing multiple Psychic attacks. "It's now or never. Are you ready to face the leader?" I asked.

"Absolutely. Let's do a game of grass-fire-water to see who gets to battle her first."

I knew she would do this, she always had to compete for who went first at things like this. I knew her inside and out though, so I agreed to the contest. She chose grass, so I chose water, letting her win. "I will battle Trasha second then," I said to Sarah. With that, I opened the door to the Gym, and was immediately assaulted by the smell of Muk, and Grimer. I had studied Trasha's techniques and styles before, so I had expected this scent. I couldn't stand the smell, but I figured it would all be over soon enough.

Sarah entered behind me, and closed the door. The gym's lights immediately turned on, and the stadium could be seen. Standing at the far end was obviously Trasha. She had grimy, blonde hair, with sunken features. She seemed to be in her fifties, but with her degenerated appearance, it was hard to tell.

"Welcome challengers, I am Trasha. As you both probably know, I specialize in the training of the Poison-type." She spoke with a surprisingly sweet voice, one that did not fit her appearance in any way. She then looked more closely at me. "Boy, you look familiar. I know I haven't met you before, but you look similar to a past challenger. Are you, by chance, a Moul?"

"Yes, I am Jordan. My brother is Connor."

"Oh, he was such a great trainer. I wonder if you have the gene for Pokémon training too. Who is your friend?"

"This is Sarah, she and I are traveling together. We are both, however, here to challenge you. We agreed that she would battle you first, then me."

Trasha smiled impishly. "Very well. It shall be two Pokémon per trainer if they have that many. Jordan, you may watch from the stands." I walked to the stands, although I was the only one there. Sarah and Trasha stood at opposite ends of the stadium.

"Sarah, choose your first Pokémon." Trasha instructed.

Sarah grabbed Ralts's Pokéball "GO! RALTS!" she cried as she threw the ball. Ralts came out and looked determined to defeat with whatever Trasha threw at her. Trasha grabbed her first Pokémon. "I choose, Croagunk!" With that, a Pokémon that appeared to be a bipedal poison-dart frog appeared, looking ready to battle, and very well trained.

Sarah made the opening attack. "Ralts use Psybeam!" Ralts focused, then created rings of Psychic power, aiming them directly for Croagunk. The frog was ready for this though, and leapt out of the way of the assault.

Trasha gave her command "Use Poison Jab!" Croagunk's hand then began glowing violet, resembling a toxin. It started to throw punches at Ralts, but Ralts dodged every attempt to land a hit. Sarah had trained it well.

"Now Ralts, use Confusion!" Ralts's horn on its head began to glow blue, and Croagunk froze in place, as if paralyzed entirely. Then Ralts threw Croagunk into the base of the stands using its Psychic powers. Croagunk then fell to the ground, looking very badly hurt and tired.

Trasha looked surprised, and concerned for her Pokémon. "Return Croagunk!" When it was back into its Pokéball, Trasha said to it "Rest up, you fought the best you could out there." Trasha then sent her second Pokémon out. "Go Bulbasaur!" I was not overly surprised by this choice. After all, Bulbasaur is part Poison-type. Sarah remained determined as well, clearly in her battling zone.

"Ralts use Psybeam again!" Sarah commanded

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf!" Trasha called at the same time that Sarah gave her command. Ralts began launching another wave of telekinetic rings at Bulbasaur, while a barrage of razor-sharp leaves hurtled at Ralts. I knew at that point that Sarah had won the battle, but the question was whether Ralts would be alright after this barrage of leaves. Bulbasaur was launched back, landing hard beside Trasha's feet, and then collapsed to its side. At the same time, Ralts received nearly twenty long cuts, and fell to its knees. Ralts, however, managed to struggle back to its feet.

Sarah leapt for joy and ran over to embrace Ralts. The two had won their first gym battle with aplomb, and Ralts was relatively unscathed. I ran from the stands and to the stadium to hug Sarah. Trasha then approached with the Venom Badge in hand. It was in the shape of a snake head from the side, with the fangs out and it was violet in color. "Congratulations Sarah, you've clearly earned this badge. Now, Jordan and I will battle tomorrow so my Pokémon may get a rest. Jordan, would you mind that terribly?" I had no objections, so Sarah recalled Ralts, and we walked out of the Gym together. My trial began tomorrow.

Ch. 7

I stood at one end of the Gym the next day, Mudkip standing by my feet. Apparently word had spread that the younger Moul would be challenging Trasha, because there was a swarm of people entering the gym while I stood there waiting for Trasha to get her Pokémon healed and ready to battle. I was getting a bit nervous with the crowd, but I knew it was only stage fright, I would be perfectly fine.

The stands were completely full when Trasha entered. There was thunderous applause, and she seemed to bask in the noise of the crowd. I stayed completely focused, not letting my fear get the better of me. She locked eyes with me and began to announce the match. "This will be a two vs. one Pokémon battle, since Jordan only has his one Pokémon, Mudkip. There will be no time limit." She then looked me squarely in the face. She grabbed a Pokéball from her waist, throwing it in a fluid motion. "Let the Battle begin!"

Her Pokéball burst open, releasing a Muk onto the field. Mudkip ran out onto the battle arena, and faced the toxic blob. I started to give a command when, suddenly, Mudkip began to glow brightly. There were many gasps of surprise at this, and I couldn't believe my eyes either. Now Mudkip's attempts to stand made sense, he was evolving. I watched as the form of my friend became bipedal, with two fins on his hind legs, and a large crest on his head. Finally, the glowing stopped, and the evolution was complete. Mudkip was now a Marshtomp.

Now I knew I would easily sweep this match. "Marshtomp, use Mud Shot now!" Marshtomp complied with much greater speed than it would have managed before evolving, launching mud at Trasha's Muk with incredible power and speed. Muk was too slow to dodge the attack, but it was incredibly resilient as well. It survived the onslaught this time, but Trasha had a few tricks up her sleeve.

"Muk, use Body Slam!" Trasha called out. Muk charged as best it could at Marshtomp, but it was once again too slow to catch Marshtomp. "Marshtomp, use Water Gun now!" Marshtomp unleashed a torrent of water much larger than he had managed as a Mudkip, and it struck Muk hard. Muk was pushed back out of the field, and came to a halt, slumped over.

Trasha was in shock at this point. "You have the gene for Pokémon battling, just like your brother, but you will still lose here and now. Go, Croagunk!" Out came the same Croagunk Sarah had defeated earlier, this time, it looked really angry and annoyed. "Croagunk, use Poison Jab, and don't let Marshtomp escape a hit."

"Marshtomp hit it with Mud Shot, don't let it get anywhere near you!" Marshtomp then shot mud with as much force as his water attacks, striking Croagunk perfectly. Croagunk, however, kept coming, but obviously struggling to keep its footing and its focus. Croagunk then leapt into the air, its hands both glowing violet. Marshtomp saw it jump and then aimed a shot, letting it fly at the last second, hitting Croagunk with the force of a gunshot to the face. Croagunk flew back fast, landing hard. This time, it didn't even try to get back up, it was simply out cold. Trasha recalled Croagunk, clearly both disappointed with her loss and impressed by my performance. Marshtomp ran back to me and we embraced once again. "You did really well out there Marshtomp. Now return, you've earned a nice rest." I said as I had him return to his Pokéball.

Trasha came out of her shock at the loss and began to speak again. "Folks, today you have witnessed Jordan Moul earn his first gym badge with even more style than his older brother did. This was truly a sight to behold." Trasha then approached me with the Venom Badge in hand once again. "Jordan, you have earned this quite clearly. I can tell now that you have a great future as a trainer ahead of you. You still have a long way to go before you face your brother, but you've earned this victory."

Sarah then came out of the crowd and embraced me. We celebrated the win while people left for home, talking amongst each other, mostly about the battle, but some were talking about Sarah and I, something I had been thinking about for the last five years.

We then said our goodbyes to Trasha and returned to the Pokémon center to get a good room for the night and restock on supplies. We had a big challenge ahead of us now. We had to get through Mt. Basteel, the only place to find nearly every known Steel-type Pokémon in the world.

Ch. 8

Sarah and I got an early start the next day; we didn't want to be caught in the Basteel Cave all night. Sarah was smiling at me as we walked toward our next obstacle. I wasn't sure why, but it kind of got my hopes up. She had always been my best friend, and I knew she liked me in that way, but I had never made any approach.

"What is it?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me finally.

"It's just that you look so confident right now, you look like you've just become the American League Champion. It makes you look really tough." I knew that I felt more confident in myself and Marshtomp, but I knew there was much more to it than she was letting on. I let it rest at that, not wanting to push her away by being too needy.

We walked for a few more miles until Mount Basteel came into view. From a distance, one could see a gleam from the surface of the mountain, which was said to be the only mountain made almost entirely out of iron veins. As we got closer, the mountain began to take on a more dull appearance, but it was still gleaming like a light bulb. The mouth of the cave's tunnel was neatly carved out from many former decades of mining, but that mining ceased when Pokémon began to inhabit the mountain itself. The miners had dug multiple holes to the surface to allow light in allowing the paths to be lit by natural reflections from the surface, so we didn't feel the need to turn on our flashlights, but we still got them out in case.

I looked to Sarah, "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, sounding a little nervous, "Let's get through here and get to Pitt City quickly."

"Suit yourself. I, however, want to catch a Pokémon in this cave, since you have both Bayleef and Ralts already. I think it's my turn to catch a Pokémon." Without even giving her a chance to respond, I started to walk into the mouth of the cave. I heard Sarah follow me a few seconds later.

As we walked deeper into the cave, we realized that it was clearly visible, and that we had no need of our flashlights, so we placed them back into our bags and continued to explore the cave. I got Marshtomp's Pokéball into my hand and began a search for a wild Pokémon. I saw multiple Arons, a few Magnemite and even a Mawile, but none of these Pokémon were what I wanted. There was one incredibly rare Pokémon that few trainers found, and even fewer still caught and raised them. That Pokémon was Beldum, the first form of Metagross, possibly the strongest Steel-type Pokémon ever. Catching a Beldum, however, is one test that very few trainers have the patience and desire to pass. I, however, was one of the few. Sarah decided to use this time to train her Pokémon, but she was not as interested in catching another Pokémon as I was.

I searched for nearly four hours, training Marshtomp against some of the other Pokémon we encountered as we searched. I was tempted to quit my search and catch something else, but something caught my eye in a crevice on the wall. As I took a closer look, I could see that it was a glowing red circle, just like the eye of a Beldum. I realized then that this was my chance.

I sent out Marshtomp, and told him to go into the crevice and bring the Beldum out into the open. Marshtomp dove into the crack and pulled out the blue metal Pokémon. Beldum looked angry about being removed from its hiding spot, and it looked ready to fight. I was happy to oblige. "Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!" Marshtomp shot a stream of mud at Beldum, knocking the Steel Pokémon out of the air. It was quick to get back up, but it was looked like it was hurt enough for me to try catching it. I took out my first empty Pokéball and threw it at Beldum. It brought in the Pokémon and snapped shut. The Pokéball rolled around on the ground for nearly a minute before it finally stopped moving. I was overwhelmed with joy, "YES! I caught a Beldum!"

Sarah came rushing over when she heard me shout this. She looked excited to see my new acquisition. I smiled and opened the Pokéball, releasing the newly caught Beldum. It looked a bit confused about what had just happened, but it seemed to get over its confusion quickly. I smiled at Beldum, hoping to reassure it that everything would be fine, and that it would soon become a far stronger Pokémon. It looked as unsure as a Beldum could at that moment. I saw that my new Pokémon was still slightly injured from our battle, so I went up to it with a Super Potion in hand, spraying it with the strong medicine. It sounded like it was in pain for a second, but then it relaxed quickly as the medicine took effect. Then Beldum looked at Sarah, still trying to figure out what had just happened to it. Marshtomp then went over to Beldum and began communicating with it, I got the feeling that Marshtomp was explaining that I was a Pokémon trainer, and that I would help it to be stronger. Beldum seemed to be excited about whatever Marshtomp was saying to it, so I recalled both Marshtomp and Beldum so Sarah and I could continue on our way to Pitt City.

We encountered multiple wild Pokémon and a few trainers who wanted to battle on our way out of the cave, so I took all of the opportunities to train Beldum and Marshtomp I could. I was incredibly impressed with how well the two battled. During the last battle in Mt. Basteel, I realized that Beldum must have had a lot of experience when I captured him. I was battling a trainer named Miguel, who was using a Golbat. My Beldum was battling.

"Beldum use Take Down!" I shouted. Beldum charged quickly, but Golbat was fast, so it only took a glancing blow.

"Golbat use Poison Fang!" Miguel shouted. I smirked, realizing that Miguel didn't fully know type alignments, since Poison does nothing to Steel Types. Golbat tried to bite Beldum, but Golbat's teeth, which were glowing with the violet tint of poison, hit solid metal, doing no damage at all. At that time, Beldum began to glow a bright white. He was evolving! I saw Beldum's form change, he had two arms that both looked like the main body of a Beldum, which attached to a body that looked like a flying saucer. He now had two glowing, red eyes with two sets of two silver horns coming from both sides of his body. Between his eyes was a single metal horn that looked a lot like a nose of sorts. As the glowing ceased, Beldum's evolution was complete. He was now a Metang.

I wanted to run and embrace it, but we still had a battle to win. "Metang, use Confusion!" I commanded. Metang's eyes glowed blue, and Golbat was held still in midair. Metang then threw Golbat into the floor, ending the battle. I ran and embraced the newly evolved Metang, happy that my team was getting even better than I had imagined it.

Sarah then came over from where she was sitting, and hugged me as well. "That was an amazing battle Jordan. I can't believe how good you are already!" I returned the hug, enjoying every second of it.

Ch. 9

Sarah and I were just walking into Pitt City the next day, having camped outside Mt. Basteel the night before. We were in a slight debate over what to do after we went to the Pokémon Center. She was adamant about buying some more supplies as soon as possible, but I leaned more towards going to the museum, as we had promised Doctor Brinks.

"Look," I said, "We can get supplies anytime. We have an opportunity to see the fossils at the museum, and possibly get our own ancient Pokémon. Wouldn't that be helpful? Besides, we aren't going outside the city for a while; we may not need supplies until we leave."

"I just feel like we should go for the supplies just in case we need them," Sarah said. Then, at that moment, our debate was settled, because a familiar face came sprinting towards us.

"Doctor Brinks?" I asked, "What's going on?"

"Jordan, Sarah! Thank Arceus I found you two. The museum is being attacked by a force of Team Phoenix personnel, and they are going after all of the fossils. I need all the help I can get to clear them out."

"Well Sarah," I said "Looks like we are going to the museum after all." With that, we both sprinted to the museum, getting out our Pokéballs along the way. When we arrived, Team Phoenix was still there, I knew there would be at least one Administrator in the group, but had no idea how many grunts there would be. I got out my phone and called Connor to let him know the situation.

"Connor, the museum in Pitt City is being attacked by Team Phoenix, get here as soon as you can," I said.

"I'll be there soon, don't wait for me to get to the party, though," he replied.

I looked at Sarah as I hung up the phone. "Well, let's stop these guys." Sarah looked shocked.

"Jordan, you don't know what these guys have for Pokémon, they could kill Marshtomp and Metang if you aren't careful."

"This is a museum they are taking down. They wouldn't expect much resistance for this operation, so they probably don't have that strong of Pokémon, but I still can't stand by and wait for them to get done. Besides, Connor is on his way, if it's too much for me, he can help."

I charged in before there was any more debating. I heard Sarah call out to me, saying that she would prevent any other members of Team Phoenix from entering the building, so she didn't follow me in. I didn't mind, since I needed all the focus I could get in this task.

Upon entering the museum, I could see that the layout was relatively simple, with about thirty display cases with Pokémon fossils lining the rectangular room's walls. The lights were on, so I could see that there were about ten Phoenix members on this floor, all were men. I tried to hide myself from view, but I knew that I would have to make a move quickly and eliminate all of their Pokémon and get upstairs before the Administrator heard anything.

Then, I hatched my plan, it was risky to do this, but it may just work. I would announce myself, hoping that my reputation had spread since the Carradale Gym battle, and then battle each one of the members, one-on-one. So I stood up, and sent out Marshtomp and Metang, causing the Team Phoenix members to jump, and look directly at me. I glared at them, and then said "I am Jordan Moul, perhaps you have heard of me, if not my brother. I assure you that I am just as good as, if not better than, my brother. If you are feeling strong, battle me; if not, then drop whatever fossils you have and leave this instant before I have my Pokémon blast you through the walls." Unfortunately, my announcement did not have the desired effect. The whole group just began to laugh, and each one sent out a Pokémon of his own. There was a Kranidos, a Shieldon, an Archen, a Lileep, an Omanyte, a Kabuto, an Anorith, and three Zubats. I smiled menacingly, realizing that this battle may be much easier than I had expected it to be, even with the odds stacked against me five to one. "Marshtomp, use Water Gun on Shieldon, Kranidos, Omanyte, and Anorith. Metang use Confusion to stop all of them from attacking, then use Metal Claw on Lileep, Kabuto, and Archen!" Metang was the first to move, paralyzing the entire enemy squad of Pokémon with his Confusion. Then Marshtomp began to pick out his targets with Mud Shot, knocking out each Pokémon as he went, going in the exact order I had commanded. Metang then began his second attack, taking out his targets with his Metal Claw as quickly as any attack I had ever seen out of him. The entire opposing side was wiped out in a matter of a few minutes with the exception of the Zubats. "Now, Metang, throw those Zubats into the wall!" Metang responded, and the Zubats hurtled away, slamming hard into the buttresses of the museum.

The Team Phoenix members each recalled his Pokémon, each emptied his pockets of fossils, replacing them in the original display cases, then, they all just walked out of the museum, in shock. I recalled both Metang and Marshtomp, and went to the main laboratory, which is where the Phoenix administrator would likely be, since there would be more fossils there than anywhere else in the museum. As I ran toward that part of the museum, I heard the roar of a Charizard from right outside the museum, so I figured Connor had just arrived to help with the problem. I had a hope that he wouldn't be needed.

I made it to the lab's door, but it was locked. I sent out Metang to get it open, since he was a lot heavier than the door. Metang charged and the door came down hard. Unfortunately, my guess had been wrong about the Administrator's location, because only researchers were in the room, and they looked scared. "Get out of here," I told them. "I am going to take care of Team Phoenix, but I need you all to get to safety." The scientists all started to file out towards the exit, except for one that stayed behind with a menacing look on his face. "You thought I was one of the researchers for this museum, didn't you, Moul? You could not have been more wrong. I am with Team Phoenix, and I have half a mind to call up to the Boss and report you to him. I also, however, want revenge for what you did to me outside Carradale."

Taking a closer look, I realized that this was, indeed the same man I had beaten earlier. This time, he gave me the impression that he had trained a great deal since we last met. Since Metang was already out of his Pokéball, I decided it was a good chance to train him. "Fine, you can have another battle, but I want to know where your boss is when I beat you again."

"When? Hehehe…WHEN you beat me again? You sound really cocky for some punk with only one Gym Badge." He sent out his first Pokémon, "GO MIGHTYENA!" The Pokéball released the black and grey dog that was about two feet tall from pad to head. It looked ferocious, but Metang was not intimidated by Mightyena's appearance.

"Metang use Metal Claw!" I shouted.

"Mightyena, use Crunch!" my opponent cried.

Metang's claw began to shine like it had been freshly polished, and it charged, preparing to swing at the enemy. Mightyena also charged, teeth bared and jaws open wide. Metang's aim was true, and he struck Mightyena under its jaw, sending it sprawling into the wall. That, however, did not stop Mightyena's assault. It got up, and shook off the blow like it was nothing. Then Mightyena charged back, just as Metang was preparing to swing again. This time, Mightyena struck first, and it seemed to strick hard. Metang, however, took the blow like it was nothing, then clawed down at Mightyena, hitting even harder than last time. Mightyena landed hard into the ground, and this time didn't get back up.

The Phoenix member was devastated. "I had my Anorith confiscated until I could beat you, now my boss has it. I guess I won't be seeing it for a while," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I only care about stopping this raid. Where is the boss of this raid?"

"He is in the office of Doctor Brinks, getting the research files for our team to use. Don't bother trying to stop him, you are nowhere near strong enough."

"Oh don't worry. My brother is already here, and he will be more than happy to help me with your boss. By the way, I feel I should at least learn your name since you have a grudge against me now."

"I'm Mike, and that is the only name you'll get for me."

I noticed Mike's eyes had gone wide when I mentioned Connor, but I didn't worry about him now. I had to get to Doctor Brinks's office fast, so I ran to a map of the museum. I found the location quickly, and I started to move towards the office door, until Connor called out from behind me. "Jordan, hold on!"

I stopped, and looked back. Connor had Charizard still out, and they looked ready to battle somebody. "Thanks for waiting up," Connor said. "How many are left?"

"I don't know, but the Phoenix boss is in Doctor Brinks's office. If we hurry, we can stop him," I said.

"What of the rest of the grunts?" Connor asked.

"I beat eleven of them, ten were at the same time, but I am not sure how many grunts are left. If we beat the boss, though, we can stop the entire attack."

"Good plan, let's go to the office, and end this here and now. We will then stop the stragglers from escaping with fossils."

"Sarah is taking care of that, don't worry about the stragglers."

We then started to move toward the office, but Connor apparently wanted to know how everything was going with me. "So, I hear Mudkip evolved, and that you caught, and evolved a Beldum."

"Yeah, I did. It was a long search for a Beldum, but it paid off really well. He is turning into an incredibly strong Pokémon."

"So I have heard from Metagross trainers. I also heard that you beat Trasha's team with aplomb."

"That was where Mudkip evolved. I have a feeling that he waited to evolve until that moment, because he was practically glowing the day before."

Connor chuckled at that, but the time for talking was over. We had just arrived at Doctor Brinks's office, and we could hear the Phoenix boss rummaging through file cabinets. I looked to Connor, smiled, and waved him back from the door. Once he was clear, Metang flew at the door, busting it down. I sent out Marshtomp, and recalled Metang. The Phoenix boss jumped in shock at the sudden intrusion, but he was not as startled as I had hoped. He stood at least six feet tall, and had a muscular build, but what really caught my eye was the ring on his finger, which gleamed gold and was covered in priceless gemstones.

"I was expecting you, Jordan. I was not, however, expecting for you to bring your brother with you." He said with commanding baritone. "Connor, it has been a while since we last met. I lost to you many a time back when I was still a Grunt with a grudge. I believe that we have another, similar situation with Jordan and Mike, one of my top grunts."

"Emmanuel?" Connor said in a surprised tone. "Is that you?"

"Yes, but I must say, I am not so interested in you anymore, Connor. As it so happens, Team Phoenix has taken an exceptionally sharp interest in your brother. You see, we have been keeping a close eye on him since he embarrassed Mike on the first day Jordan became a trainer."

I was shocked at that. I had never even thought that Team Phoenix would be monitoring Sarah and me. I didn't let it bother me too much. I would need to put my whole heart and soul into the battle I was about to join. "Enough of this," I said before I could stop myself. "Emmanuel, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle.

Emmanuel just smiled, "Such impatience and confidence for one so inexperienced. I have been training my Pokémon rigorously for the last ten years. Your brother knows how strong I was two years ago, and I have only improved since then. If it's a battle you want, then you'll get it. I don't care who you are related to."

He grabbed his first Pokéball, "Go, Armaldo!"

With a flash of light, the slate-grey Pokémon appeared. It stood on two legs, with a spiked tail, and two spear-like arms in the front. It had a long neck, which had red and white frills on the sides, and it had two sharp teeth protruding from its upper jaw. It looked incredibly strong, and I began to have doubts about my challenge.

"Wait," Connor said. "Let's make it a double battle, us against you. You can send out two of your Pokémon to battle both of us."

Emmanuel smirked, and without answering, threw another Pokéball. "Go, Aerodactly!" This time, the Pokémon that came out was a creature of legend. It was almost all grey, with large, bat-like wings, a huge tail that ended with an arrowhead tip, and a huge mouth full of razor sharp teeth. The only part that was not grey was the skin of its wings, which had a violet hue to it.

Connor looked at me and winked slyly. He called for Charizard to come forward. "Charizard, help Marshtomp as much as you can." He then looked to Emmanuel. "Let's get it started."

Ch. 10

We had moved out into the museum's main entrance for more space to battle. When we arrived, we could hear police sirens, but no police officers had entered the building yet.

Connor gave the first command "Charizard, use Iron Tail on Aerodactyl, then Fire Blast on Armaldo."

"Armaldo use Earthquake! Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power on Charizard!" Emmanuel commanded his Pokémon.

"Marshtomp jump before Earthquake hits you, then use Mud Shot on Armaldo!" I called.

Marshtomp was able to get out of the way of Armaldo's attack, but he missed with the Mud Shot. Charizard, who was in the air before Earthquake landed, was the first to land a hit, just as Aerodactyl was preparing to use Ancient Power. Charizard's tail began to gleam like it was made of steel, then Charizard swung around, stricking Aerodactyl hard across the face. Aerodactyl was shaken and had been stopped from using its attack temporarily, but it was not beaten yet. Charizard then loosed a human-shaped blast of flame at Armaldo.

"Armaldo dodge, and use Slash on Marshtomp! Aerodactyl use Ancient Power on Charizard!" Emmanuel commanded his two Pokémon. Armaldo sprinted faster than one would have thought possible, it dodged the Fire Blast, which hit the stone wall, but did no other damage otherwise. Aerodactyl began to levitate boulders from the floor in front of it. Then the rocks flew directly at Charizard, who was just barely able to dodge the attack.

"Marshtomp get out of the way before that Slash lands, and hit Armaldo with Water Gun as it goes by." I commanded. Marshtomp responded just in time, spraying water at the large Pokémon. Armaldo still swung, but only hit the steady blast of water. The attack, however, didn't seem to be doing a great deal of damage to Armaldo. I decided to change tactics.

"Marshtomp start using Mud Shot!" I called out.

"Aerodactyl, use Hyper Beam on Marshtomp!" Emmanuel called out just after I gave my command. Aerodactyl's mouth began to glow brightly, and the light gradually began to fill the Pokémon's mouth until it appeared to be solid.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower on Aerodactyl, don't let it fire that Hyper Beam." Charizard instantly launched a stream of flames at Aerodactyl. The fire engulfed the enemy Pokémon, but it hit too late. Aerodactyl launched a massive beam of light that flew rapidly toward Marshtomp just before Charizard took him out of the fight.

"MARSHTOMP, GET OUT OF THE WAY NOW!" I cried, with horror evident in my voice. Marshtomp stopped his assault on Armaldo, who had taken a lot of damage from the Mud Shot, and jumped away from both Armaldo, and the Hyper Beam, but the jump didn't take him far enough from the blast. Armaldo was still recuperating from Marshtomp's assault and, as a result, was unable to avoid taking a lot of damage from the resulting explosion, and collapsed directly after. Marshtomp, despite his best efforts to move, did not get out of the way fast enough. The explosion launched him nearly through the doors out of the museum. I looked on in shock as my first Pokémon was sent into a sprawling skip across the hard, granite floors, until he eventually came to rest right by the doors.

"MARSHTOMP!" I cried, terrified that he may have died from the impact. I ran to him, and listened for breathing. I couldn't hear anything for almost a minute, and I began to get choked up. Behind me, I heard the sound of a Pokémon being released. Emmanuel gave a command, but I didn't hear, nor comprehend it, until there was an explosion on the ceiling, but I didn't care, all I was worried about was whether my friend would be alright. That was when Marshtomp began to cough, but weakly. His breath came raggedly, but he was still alive. Connor came over to me, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Jordan, Emmanuel just escaped on an Archeops, we won," he said.

"Yeah," I said stoically. "But I lost."

Ch. 11

Connor and I came out of the museum, Marshtomp unconscious in my arms. The police officers had formed a large perimeter, with Growlithe and Arcanine waiting to enter. I looked to Sarah, who seemed to be shocked at seeing Marshtomp as he was. "Connor," I said, "tell Sarah to meet me at the Pokémon Center as soon as she can. I need to get Marshtomp there immediately."

"Then I'll have Alakazam teleport you there," he replied. Connor grabbed a Pokéball, and released his Alakazam. "Alakazam, get Jordan to the nearest Pokémon Center now, then return here to help the police clear out the rest of the Team Phoenix grunts." Alakazam's eyes glowed for a second, then Alakazam, Marshtomp, and I were all inside the Pokémon Center. Alakazam then disappeared, returning to the museum.

I ran to the medical counter, where the Nurse Joy was standing, looking cheerful until she saw Marshtomp. "Chansey, get a gurney in here immediately!" She called, skipping the formal greetings since Marshtomp was clearly in critical condition. The Chansey was there in less than a minute, the gurney ready for Marshtomp. I laid my friend down on the cart, and Chansey and Nurse Joy took it into a surgical suite. Nurse Joy called for the doctor to help. The last I saw of Marshtomp that day was him with a breather and an IV drip in his arm. Another nurse stayed with me while the operation took place.

"What happened to your Marshtomp?" She asked.

"Team Phoenix, and my overconfidence," I said.

She looked confused at that statement. "I just helped to stop the museum robbery, and I took on Emmanuel, the boss of Team Phoenix, although it was with my brother's help. Emmanuel's Aerodactyl launched a Hyper Beam. Marshtomp didn't get away quick enough."

"Marshtomp is in great hands, you're lucky you got him here as quickly as you did," she told me, but there was clear doubt in her voice. I heard the distant rumble of thunder outside, and I couldn't help but notice the cliché. Nurse Joy came into the room a few minutes later.

"Sir, your Marshtomp is fading. You should come back with me." I followed silently, struggling to keep the tears back. My first Pokémon was about to die, and I couldn't do anything about it. I came to the room, and Marshtomp lay with multiple tubes and wires connected to him. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I knelt beside the bed, I wasn't sure what to say, but I tried anyway.

"Marshtomp, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have challenged Emmanuel," I said through tears. "You have been the greatest Pokémon and friend a trainer could ask for." Marshtomp weakly lifted his hand, and reached toward me. He pointed at my heart as best he could, then pointed back toward his own. I could tell his meaning, even at that most painful of moments. He was saying "I am in your heart." Nurse Joy came behind me and laid her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, it's time."

I then did something that I had almost never done before; I began to pray to Arceus, hoping that the god of Pokémon, which I didn't really even believe in, would be willing to restore Marshtomp to life. I prayed for almost half an hour, but nothing happened.

I stood up, ready to take Marshtomp to the Pokémon tower for burial. I reached for my Pokémon, holding his hand until the heart monitor went flat. At that instant, a blast of wind blew through the entire Pokémon Center. The wind came to Marshtomp's bedside and began to become a single, solid form. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, Arceus was answering my pleas personally. When the wind finally died down, Arceus stood before Nurse Joy and me. His body was a purely white fleece of cloud that came to four leg-like points, each of which ended with solid yellow points, and a white fleece tail. He had a grey face with green eyes, and four yellow appendages coming from his mid-section that branched and connected into a circle with green dots where the branches came out of the appendages. Its appearance, however, was not what made it clear that this was Arceus. It gave off an aura of immense power, but also kindness, and wisdom. I had heard the legends that Arceus could communicate with humans telepathically, and would only help those trainers with the purest of hearts.

I was still awestruck when I noticed that Arceus was looking me directly in the eye. I then heard an ancient and immensely powerful voice, but Nurse Joy seemed not to notice anything.

_"Jordan Moul, you have deeply moved me with your prayer. Your love for Pokémon and humans alike is greater than any I have seen before. I will return your Marshtomp to life, and I shall bless you, and all of your Pokémon, present and future, with more power than any other Pokémon has ever displayed before. Do not, however, make the same challenge you have made today until you are completely ready to do so."_

Arceus touched Marshtomp's head with one of his appendages, and the other reached over and touched my head. A bright light filled the room and Marshtomp's heart rate returned to healthy levels, all of his injuries healed instantly, and all of the plugs and wires on him were taken out without anybody touching them. When the light faded, Arceus was gone, but Marshtomp was standing up, looking as if he had never seen battle in his entire life. I couldn't have been happier.

"MARSHTOMP, YOU'RE ALIVE!" I said with happiness clear my voice. I hugged my Pokémon, which he returned. I realized, at that moment, that Arceus was truly as powerful as he was claimed to be, and that I was now a believer. Nurse Joy was still wondering what had just happened, but she didn't seem too concerned about it anymore, since she had also just witnessed a miracle.

"Jordan, what just happened?" I heard from outside Marshtomp's room. It was Sarah, and Connor was with her. They must have just gotten to the Pokémon Center before Arceus came. I looked to her, a smile on my face. I definitely had a story to tell.

Ch. 12

When we were in our room for the night, I told Connor and Sarah what had happened. Needless to say, they didn't fully believe what I claimed. It was evident that Arceus had saved Marshtomp, but, because no others had heard its voice, they didn't believe what Arceus had told me. I wasn't too concerned by their disbelief, I knew what I had been told, and I couldn't have imagined the voice even if I had tried to.

Connor left early the next morning to get some training on his own, and I couldn't blame him, since Sarah and I were still relatively new trainers. Sarah went shopping for supplies before we faced the Pitt City Gym Leader, Cole. I decided to return to the museum to see if I could help with any repairs to the building, especially since most of the damages resulted directly from my battles. Upon arriving, however, I saw that the museum was surrounded by police officers. I walked up to one. "What's going on here?" I asked.

"Nothing, this is just a security effort for the time being. By the way, aren't you the guy who helped to stop the robbery?"

"I am, don't worry, my Marshtomp is completely healthy."

"What even happened to him in the first place?"

"An Aerodactyl and a Hyper Beam happened. Then a miracle, but if I told you, you'd think I was crazy."

Dr. Brinks broke the conversation "Jordan, are you okay? I heard what happened to Marshtomp."

I smiled, "I have a very strange story to tell you. You probably won't believe it."

He took me into his office, and I told him about what happened at the Pokémon Center, and he listened quietly, reserving judgments until the end of my tale. It took me an hour to explain what had happened. When I was finished, Dr. Brinks smiled. "What you have just described is something that, according to legend, Arceus does only for the most pure-hearted, intelligent, and strong-willed trainer. There has only been one trainer in history other than you who has ever received such a blessing, and that was centuries ago."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Are you saying that I am some sort of chosen hero?"

"No. I am saying that you have been given the greatest gift, and the highest honor any Pokémon trainer could ever hope to receive," He said calmly. "The tale you tell about Arceus saving your Marshtomp, while appearing in his true form, is one that will undoubtedly be told around the world, but only a few could ever comprehend the truth of what has occurred. I am a strong believer in Arceus, as I am sure you are now, and I will help those he has blessed in any way possible. While I am not a trainer, myself, I can still help you along your journey."

"How?" I asked.

"I have a friend who tames and breeds Dragon Pokémon on the other side of the city. If you are interested, I could call him and have him give both you and Sarah a dragon of your choice."

I was taken aback, I had two strong Pokémon already, but the benefits of having any dragon Pokémon far outweighed the difficulties in raising one. I knew I wanted to get a dragon-type, and I had a feeling Sarah wanted one too.

"That sounds great, let your friend know that Sarah and I will be at his place in an hour or two. Although, I must say that I am having a hard time believing that this is just because Arceus gave me some sort of blessing."

Dr. Brinks chuckled, "Well, it might also be as a thank you for saving this museum and the exhibits." We talked for a short while longer, but eventually I had to say goodbye and went back to the Pokémon Center to tell Sarah of our new plans.

Ch. 13

It took Sarah and me an hour to get to the dragon breeder's home, which was set in a mountain range that led to Murkwood, and held the infamous Lava Pass. The breeder was sitting on his porch, waiting for us to arrive, and next to him was a woman. Behind the house was a gigantic, solid gate of metal, and from the other side came the roars of multiple dragons. The man looked to be about thirty, he was just less than six feet tall, had the build of a weight trainer, but his features gave visitors a sense of welcome. He had thick, black facial hair, and he wore a straw hat that one would expect to see on a farm worker. The woman looked to be around five-foot-six and closer to twenty-five. She had shoulder-length, golden-blonde hair, smooth, tan skin, and icy-blue eyes. When they saw us, he stood up, and grinned, his teeth sparklingly white.

"Welcome, you must be Jordan and Sarah. Doctor Brinks told me a lot about you two. My name is Seth, and this is my wife, Dana." Dana gave a little smile, but Seth continued his introduction, "I have been named the best dragon breeder in the world for over ten consecutive years. Anyway, I already know why you are both here, so let's just go to the dragon fields. Do you two know what you are looking for?"

Sarah spoke first "I am looking for a Dratini, but I want one that will be easy to train."

Seth smiled, "I've got just the one for you Sarah, there is a Dratini here that is quite friendly and listens to nearly any trainer, but it still can battle like it is already a Dragonite. What of you Jordan?"

I had to think, "I am not sure. I would like one that is versatile, powerful, and isn't afraid to battle."

Seth had to think about my request for a while. "Hm, I think I know what dragon would fit that description. Before we go to the dragons, I should let you both know that you must still capture them like any other Pokémon, but they tend to be more willing than those you would see in the wild. Lastly, don't do ANYTHING to set one of the big guys off, you may escape a situation like that without a limb, at the very least."

Seth opened the large gates to his dragon fields, and truly, Sarah and I both began marveling at the beauty of the place. There were mountains everywhere, and we could clearly see many fully evolved dragons roaming freely. We saw a Salamence on top of one of the mountains, as well as multiple Garchomp along the base of the mountains. By the water, we saw a huge Dragonite, and in the grasslands we could see a Haxorous. The only dragon we couldn't see was a Hydreigon, which was not known to come out during the day unless there was a very good reason. The entire area was like a painting of beauty and majesty.

Seth first took Sarah to where the Dragonite was so she could catch her Dratini. "Hello Bessy," Seth said to the Dragonite, which looked to be quite friendly. "Would you mind fetching Dratini for me?" Bessy smiled like a proud parent, then flew over the lake for a while before finally diving in. "Bessy was my first dragon, and she is the mother of all of the Dratini here. She is one of the most friendly dragons I have ever had the pleasure of raising."

We waited for five more minutes before Bessy resurfaced with Dratini by its side. "Thank you Bessy, if you want to watch this you can stay."

Bessy first walked up to Sarah and started to inspect her like any mother would. Finally, Bessy gave Sarah a reassuring lick, as if to say that it was alright for Sarah to capture this Dratini.

That was when Sarah sent out Bayleef to battle Dratini. I watched as Sarah gracefully commanded her Pokémon until her dragon was tired enough to be captured. Sarah threw an empty Pokéball at Dratini, and there was a long lapse where Dratini struggled to break free. Try as it might, Dratini eventually stopped struggling, and was captured.

"Nice job Sarah!" I said, "You made it look easy," I said.

"Thank you Jordan. Now I hope you're ready to catch your dragon."

Seth chuckled, "Well, the big problem with HIS dragon, is that it's at the base of the mountain, and it is very elusive. Also, the parents can be quite protective of the young."

I was a little concerned about what Seth just said, "Which dragon are you talking about?" I asked.

"We are going to where the Garchomp roam."

Ch. 14

I was dumbfounded. Garchomp were known to be some of the most dangerous and aggressive Pokémon in the world and even the greatest of dragon trainers treated them with caution. They were also known, however, to be among the most powerful Dragons as well. I realized I had to say something about Seth's idea. "I don't know if I can handle a Garchomp yet, are there any other options for me."

Seth let out a hearty laugh, "Oh, dear boy, I wasn't about to have you try to catch a fully evolved Garchomp. I was thinking that a Gible would best fit your needs." I visibly relaxed at that, but I was still nervous.

"Don't worry Jordan. Bessy will be with us in case there is any trouble. You will find that she is quite capable of controlling any dragon. Now, let's go get you that Gible."

The three of us got onto Bessy's back and she flew us to the base of the mountain in about a minute. I was amazed at how fast a Dragonite could actually travel, despite having heard all the stories of them flying incredible distances in almost no time at all. When we landed and got off of Dragonite, I realized that the three of us were in a desert surrounded by three mountains. I could vaguely see a huge Garchomp at the base of one of the mountains, but it seemed to pay us no heed, and continued with whatever it was doing.

Seth approached me, with what appeared to be a flute in his hand. "Alright Jordan, this is a Gible call, it will only attract Gible to you, so you shouldn't have to worry about any Garchomp attacking. Do it when you are ready."

I sent out Marshtomp, and put the call to my lips. I gave a hard blow, and a barely audible sound came out. We all waited for a while, but nothing came. The Garchomp on the mountain, however, seemed to take some notice, because it turned its head directly to me. I was starting to get a little more concerned with Seth's plan, but Marshtomp was looking excited. This would be his first battle since his revival, and he was eager to improve both himself and my team.

Finally, I saw a blue head crest, characteristic of a Gible, over a small sand dune. I looked to Seth, who made a motion to indicate that I should use the call again. I placed it to my lips, and gave another breath. The head crest snapped in our direction, and then it began to get closer. The Pokémon was short, with an orange chest, and a mostly blue body. Its head ended with what looked like a dorsal fin. The most dominant feature, however, was its massive mouth, which had two rows of razor-sharp, serrated teeth.

"Marshtomp, once you have a close shot, use Water Gun." I said so Gible couldn't hear me. We waited a total of thirty seconds before Gible came charging at Marshtomp, and it looked like it was happy to battle. Just as Gible got within a few inches of landing a solid hit, Marshtomp launched a torrent of water that sent Gible back a few feet. "Now Marshtomp, if this Pokéball fails don't let it escape the area," I commanded as I threw an empty Pokéball at the temporarily dazed Gible. The ball took in the dragon, and landed in the desert sand. It started to rock violently, and I became concerned that I had thrown the ball too soon. That fear, however, proved to be unfounded, as the ball stopped rolling, and the red light at the center turned back to white. I recalled Marshtomp, giving him time to rest.

I picked up the Pokéball holding my newly captured Pokémon. I was just as happy as I had been when I captured Beldum, but, as a huge shadow fell over me, I realized that I didn't have the time to celebrate like I had done when I captured Beldum. I looked up, and I felt my eyes go wide with fear. I had been so focused on Gible that I hadn't noticed the Garchomp starting to fly toward me.

Ch. 15

The giant Garchomp came hurtling at the ground right behind me. I realized that I couldn't get away safely even if I tried, and I suddenly realized how Marshtomp had felt when Aerodactyl had used that fatal Hyper Beam. So I stood my ground as it landed on its feet and causing the ground to vibrate under its weight. I would not be letting out any of my Pokémon, while still taking a complete leap of faith that this massive Pokémon wouldn't kill me.

"JORDAN, RUN!" I heard Sarah shout hysterically just before Seth covered her mouth, telling her to not draw attention to herself. I merely stayed where I was standing. I knew that there was no way for me to get much more than a foot away from this behemoth before it responded, and I couldn't be sure that the reaction wouldn't kill me.

The Garchomp glared at me hard, but I remained calm, despite my gut-wrenching fear that I was doomed. The dragon was well over six feet tall and weighed easily two hundred pounds. Its underbelly was mostly orange with a small patch of yellow at the base of the tail, but most of its skin was a navy blue. It had a single gigantic dorsal fin on its back that looked like it belonged to a shark. Each arm was thin compared to the rest of the body, but they clearly had a great deal of strength to them, and just before the elbow were two tooth-like spikes. On the other side the elbows were blade-like shark fins with a single claw at the end of the arm. Its tail ended with two shark fins on their tips making the tail have a rudder of sorts. Its legs were thick, and on both thighs were two more tooth-like spikes, and its feet were flat with three toes, each ending in sharp claws. Lastly, its head was mostly flat except for two bullet-shaped bulbs on the sides of its head. The snout was a sharp dip toward its large jaws, with a yellow marking at the snout. The mouth was full of razor sharp teeth, and its amber eyes were just under the snout.

It walked up to me, and then brought its head down so I could look it directly in the eye. I could hear the deep rumble of the dragon's breathing, which didn't give me the impression that this Pokémon wanted to hurt me. Rather, it gave the impression that it was waiting for me to say or do something.

I started to slowly move my hand up to its massive head, which caused Garchomp's eyes to dart in my direction, but it did not growl, or show any negative reaction to my movement. My hand came to rest on Garchomp's snout, and I was surprised when Garchomp responded by moving into the contact, almost like a Meowth or Persian would when being pet. I looked deeply into Garchomp's eyes, and I could tell why this Garchomp had come. This was the mother of the Gible I had just captured, and she wanted to make sure that I was a good trainer. I also got an unspoken message to take care of Gible, and keep him safe. With that, the Garchomp leaped into the air and flew back to where it had been standing before.

Ch. 16

I looked over to Sarah and Seth; both were awestruck at what had just transpired. I was just as shocked, so I just walked back to them silently, giving back Seth's Gible call without much thought. Seth was the first to break the silence.

"I think we had better get back to the house, it has been a very long day for all of us, and we can talk back there." The three of us got onto Bessy's back, and she flew us to the gates of the dragon fields in about a minute. When we had all gotten into Seth's house, Dana had dinner in the oven, and she had prepared food for all four of us, and the Pokémon as well. Sarah and I released our Pokémon, and set food out for them, which they ate happily. Then all of us sat down at the table, which had steak, corn, beans, and mashed potatoes. We ate in silence, the food tasted heavenly. When we were all finished with the meal, Dana spoke to Sarah and me for the first time. Her voice had a southern drawl, which sounded sweet, and caring, yet remarkably intelligent as well.

"So, how was the excursion today?" She asked. Sarah, Seth, and I all looked from one to the other, unsure of what to say. So Sarah started.

"It was quite exciting. I have never seen a wild dragon-type so close before. Dratini was such a cool Pokémon," she said, trying to avoid saying what happened to me. I got the feeling that this was her way of having me say it.

"What about you Jordan, how was it capturing Gible?" Dana asked.

I hesitated to answer, not sure how to phrase it. So I started off simple. "It wasn't too hard to catch him, to be completely honest. It was what happened after that made it interesting."

Dana looked confused. "What do you mean? Seth, did something bad happen?"

Seth spoke for the first time since we left the dragon fields. "Amazing is the better word for what happened, actually. It was nothing short of amazing."

Dana looked back to me, and I knew I couldn't be vague anymore, but I could at least try to be modest. "Gible's mother took interest in who I was, and came over rather quickly to see who I was."

"Jordan, it was so much more impressive than that," Seth said. "You looked that Garchomp dead in the eye, and then pet it like it was a kitten. You never even flinched when others would have been losing all control!" I looked at him calmly, not really worried about how I had done what I had, I began to respond, speaking purely from my heart.

"If I'm aiming to become the greatest trainer ever, no Pokémon should scare me, especially not after what happened at the museum yesterday. Only the loss of those I care for will ever scare me." As I said this, I looked directly at Sarah first, then at my team of three, smiling casually.

Seth nodded and smiled at me knowingly, as if to say "I know exactly what you mean."

Sarah and I decided it was time to retire for the night, so we recalled our Pokémon, who had all eaten their fill, and we went to the guest bedroom. I took the couch in the room, while Sarah chose to sleep on the bed. We didn't go to sleep just yet, though. We had a lot to discuss.

"I was really scared for you out there," Sarah said as she lay in the bed, facing me. She had the slightest amount of anger in her voice as she spoke, so I knew I had to tread carefully.

"Sarah, I'm sorry for what happened, but I didn't see that Garchomp until it was right on top of me."

"Yeah, but if it hadn't had good intentions, then you would have died anyway. You relied too much on luck there."

"Believe me, I wouldn't have stuck around there had I known sooner that she was coming toward me, but I didn't. Also, I didn't rely on luck at all, I couldn't have moved without her noticing, and if it made her mad, I would have been dead. I did the best thing in that situation by holding my ground. It turned out alright in the end, didn't it?"

Sarah was quiet for a short time as she thought about her response. That was when she said something I had never expected to hear. "Jordan, you mean more to me than any other human ever has. I'm not mad about what happened, I was just terrified that the most caring person I have ever known would be lost to me."

I had no clue what to say. I had hoped for her to say something like this my entire life, but I never really expected her to say it. "I…don't know what to say, Sarah. I had no idea you felt that way."

"Then don't say anything, and join me on the bed," Sarah said to me. I was so dumbstruck that I don't remember even getting up and into the bed with her. We held each other close that night, dreaming of what would come to be between us, and wondering whether our friendship would be shattered or, as Pokémon do, evolve into something even greater.

Ch. 17

The next morning, Dana and Seth prepared breakfast for everybody, which we graciously accepted. The conversation was light, but still meaningful. Sarah and I had packed our bags before coming down to meet the two, so when breakfast was over we were completely ready to leave for the Pitt City Gym. Seth and Dana said goodbye and wished Sarah and I good luck on our journeys. It was time for the two of us to get our second gym badge.

When we arrived at the Pitt City Gym, our Pokémon were completely ready for a battle, but there was a slight problem. The line to get into the building was enormous. I walked up to one of the people in the line. "Excuse me," I asked, "What is everybody waiting for?"

Everybody immediately turned toward me, looking at me like I was insane. Then one started to speak, "Haven't you heard that the younger Moul is in town? If the rumors about his skill are true, then there is sure to be a show. So unless you are here to warm Cole up for the main event, get to the back of the line."

I looked at Sarah, both of us silently chuckling. I decided to just tell the crowd the truth. "Yeah, I know he is in town because he is me. So I'm not here to, as you so put it, 'warm Cole up,' I am here to beat him."

The crowd went deathly silent as Sarah and I walked into the Gym without even the slightest objection. As we entered, we could see that Cole, the Gym Leader, was sitting at the back. He was at least six and a half feet tall, with a shining bald head, and an incredibly well-muscled physique. His eye brows were thick and very prominent, while his eyes had a steel-grey color to them. He looked like he had been a mine worker at some point, and he was very intimidating to the casual observer. I could see how new trainers could have been intimidated by him.

"Welcome challengers, I will assume that the lady is Sarah, and the young gentleman is Jordan," Cole said with a strong and commanding voice which gave one the impression that he had once needed to shout very loudly. "Trasha sent me word about you two, the dynamic duo. Will you be switching up your challenge order from your first gym battle or will it be the same?"

"It will be the same," Sarah said with a great deal of confidence. As she said that, the spectators, who were now rapidly filling the stands, gasped at the announcement.

"Very well," Cole said, "Jordan, make yourself comfortable in the stands if you don't mind." I walked over to the front row of seats in the gym. The floor was made out of what appeared to be solid metal, most likely titanium, which was polished to the point of making a perfect reflection. I was definitely impressed with the design, since it would serve Cole's type well.

Sarah stood at her end of the arena, looking calm. I knew that her Pokémon could handle Steel-Types, but it wouldn't be an easy battle for her. I truly admired her determination at that moment.

The stands on both sides were full, and there were still people entering, so I tried to stay near the edge of the crowd in preparation for my coming battle. When the last person from the line came in, Cole looked around, took out a Pokéball and shouted "LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" He threw the Pokéball into the air, and it released the glowing form of a Lairon. The Pokémon stood on four legs, and had white steel plates on its top, with ridges where its spine most likely was. On the bottom, it looked like it had cast iron for armor. Its metallic-blue eyes could be seen at the tip of its steel-covered snout, just over its mouth. The creature looked quite intimidating, but Sarah was still calm.

"Go Kirlia," Sarah called as she threw Kirlia's Pokéball. Kirlia stood at about three feet tall, with two red crests coming from the top of its head, which looked to be covered in green hair. It stood like a ballerina, and it had what looked like a ballerina's dress around its waist. I had seen Kirlia in battle before, but now it looked different somehow, almost like Marshtomp had when he evolved back in Carradale. I realized what was about to happen to Kirlia, but I kept quiet so Sarah could be surprised.

The battle started in earnest with Sarah's first command. "Kirlia use Double Team!" The audience watched as Kirlia created multiple, exact copies of itself in a circle around Lairon. Kirlia then had all the copies revolve around Lairon quickly, confusing the steel Pokémon about where its target really was.

"Lairon, use Metal Sound!" Cole shouted. Lairon gave a loud shriek that sounded like metal grinding against metal, which caused everybody, even Kirlia, to cover their ears and wait for the sound to stop. Kirlia's lapse in attention stopped her Double Team for the time being, giving Lairon an easy target for his next attack. Sarah, however, wasn't going to give it the chance.

"Kirlia use Psybeam!" she called. Kirlia concentrated, then sent out multi-colored rings in psychic waves, which struck Lairon with what must have been an incredible amount of force, because Lairon was actually lifted off his feet, and sent flying for at least two yards. It landed hard, but Lairon's armor did its job very well, because he just stood up like nothing had happened.

"Lairon, Take Down!" Cole commanded. Lairon began to charge at Kirlia, and it must have been moving as fast as a truck on an interstate. Kirlia, however, leapt into the air, and levitated over the field so Lairon couldn't get her. That was when Kirlia began to glow brightly.

I smiled, knowing that my guess had been correct, but I continued to watch as Kirlia's form grew to around five feet tall, with the head spikes becoming one and going to her chest. Then her dress-like form became like a dress more fitting for formal ballroom dancing, while the green hair got shorter, and more carefully cropped. As the glowing ceased, everybody in the crowd gasped at the newly evolved Gardevoir.

Gardevoir floated down to the ground gently, but she was able to put on an intimidating front to battle Lairon.

Sarah didn't miss a beat in her chance to win this part of the battle. "Gardevoir use Psychic," she commanded. Both Gardevoir's eyes and the chest spike began to glow blue, and she held her arms out toward Lairon. That was when Lairon's whole body began to glow blue, and became rigid. Gardevoir then forced Lairon high into the air, holding it at least thirty feet above the floor. Then she let Lairon go. Lairon flailed and shrieked as he fell, but his efforts were in vain. He landed hard on the metal floor, denting it severely.

Cole recalled Lairon to his Pokéball, reaching for his next one. "Go, Magneton!" he shouted as he threw the next Pokéball. With a flash, a Pokémon appeared. It looked like three metal eyes stuck to one another, with two magnets coming out the side of each eye. It floated two feet off the ground, but it could easily go higher when it needed to. Magneton, however, was not known to be a strong Pokémon; it was more often used to tire opponents out. This Magneton, however, looked different.

"Magneton, use Thunderbolt!" Cole commanded. The magnets surrounding Magneton began to generate visible electricity. The lightning then coalesced into a single massive beam, then shot out at Gardevoir.

"Gardevoir, Teleport!" Sarah called. At the last possible moment, Gardevoir disappeared from the line of fire, reappearing a few feet behind Magneton. "Now use Psychic!" Sarah commanded. Gardevoir obeyed, her eyes and spike glowing blue, covering Magneton's form. Gardevoir help Magneton in place, then began to spin Magneton in a circle, spinning it at such a high speed that it seemed like Magneton was just a single, solid blur. Then Gardevoir let go, sending Magneton flying into the wall so fast that the dual-type Pokémon couldn't stop itself with its magnets in time. Its crash even looked painful. Cole recalled Magneton, looking too confident for his current situation. I was starting to worry for Sarah's chances of victory.

"You got lucky with that win. My last Pokémon will take down the rest of your team with easy. GO, STEELIX!" He shouted as he threw his third and final Pokéball.

I had never seen a Steelix until then, but I had heard that they were truly a sight to behold, growing even longer than the first form, Onix, and with a head that weighed nearly triple the original weight. The Steel snake took form after being released, stretching easily thirty feet. I knew that Steelix were normally made entirely of steel, and were the color of steel, but this one looked like it was made of solid gold.

I had heard many trainers speaking of the existence of what were typically known as "shinies" which are Pokémon that were a different color than what was typical of its species. While I had always doubted their existence, I could no longer do that with this incredible Pokémon before me.

Sarah was visibly surprised to see this Pokémon, so she almost forgot that she was in a battle. "SARAH STAY FOCUSED!" I shouted to her above all the cheering from the crowd. That brought her attention back to Gardevoir.

"Gardevoir use Psychic again!" She shouted. Gardevoir's eyes and chest spike began to glow blue once again, and Steelix was covered by the blue glow, but it was so tall that Gardevoir couldn't lift it enough to do damage from a drop. So she did the best that she could do, and tried to crush Steelix, but the task could never be done. Despite the immense psychic capabilities of a Gardevoir, Steelix was far too sturdy to be damaged that way. Eventually, exhaustion set in for Gardevoir, and she was forced to stop her attack. That lapse in the assault was the only window Steelix needed to take down Gardevoir.

"Steelix, use Iron Tail!" Cole commanded. Steelix's tail turned the color of steel as the metal snake swung its tail in a wide circle, nearly hitting a few audience members. Gardevoir was just coming out of its daze from exhaustion, and couldn't respond to Sarah's desperate commands to use some type of evasive attack. Steelix landed the hit just as Gardevoir started to use Double Team.

I couldn't look at Gardevoir after that impact, which was agonizing just to watch. She had flown into the side of the Gym harder than a baseball that was sent well out of the stadium. Sarah quickly recalled Gardevoir. She then sent out her next Pokémon, shouting "Go Bayleef" as she did so.

Bayleef was about three feet tall, with a single leaf on its head and a ring of leaves around her neck, and skin that was the same hue as a plant stem. While it didn't look too threatening compared to Steelix, I knew that it still had a type advantage in this case, and Bayleef had a few tricks she could use to turn the battle around.

"Bayleef use Sleep Powder!" Sarah commanded. Suddenly, a green-colored spore cloud was thrown from Bayleef's leaf. The spore cloud hit Steelix directly in the face, but it didn't seem to do anything for a while.

Cole started to laugh slightly, thinking the attack had failed, but he stopped when Steelix began to sway, closing its eyes as it fell under the effects of Sleep Powder. Then, he began to topple to the ground; sound asleep. Luckily, he fell away from the stands, and didn't crush anybody. Now Cole could do nothing to win until Steelix woke up again. Sarah took this opportunity to ensure her victory. "Bayleef, use Razor Leaf!" She commanded. Bayleef spun the leaf on her head five times, sending out an arsenal of sharp, spinning leaves.

Each leaf hit Steelix hard, cutting into the metal. I was impressed that Sarah was attacking Steelix's ground-type rather than attack its steel-type. Steelix gave a grimace like it could feel the leaves, but it remained under the effect of the Sleep Powder.

Cole tried to give multiple commands that, had Steelix been awake, would have ensured his victory. Unfortunately for him, Steelix remained unresponsive. It was only after Bayleef began to prepare a Razor Leaf that would have ended the battle that Steelix finally awoke, and Cole's command would not be good for Bayleef. "Steelix, use Iron Head!"

Steelix's head shimmered like steel in the sun, and he charged Bayleef with his head down. A split second later, Bayleef launched a barrage of leaves at Steelix, which were moving at the same speed as Steelix was. That second, however, was not enough for Steelix to defeat Bayleef, as the Razor Leaf attack struck hard a second before Steelix did.

While Steelix passed out, he still had the momentum of a fast moving semi-truck, so he kept going through. The impact knocked Bayleef straight back, until she landed at Sarah's feet. Bayleef struggled to her feet, clearly in pain, but still healthy.

Cole and the crowd were silent, but Cole knew he had lost this battle. He recalled Steelix to his Pokéball, and walked up to Sarah, the gym badge in-hand. "Congratulations Sarah, it's my pleasure to present you with the Platinum Badge," he said. Sarah took the badge, hugged Bayleef, and they celebrated like champions.

The crowd applauded Sarah's victory, but I heard them whispering between each other, saying "If this trainer beat Cole that easily, how strong must Jordan if he is better than she is." I couldn't dwell on their questions, though. It was my turn now.

Ch. 18

I stood at the end of the Gym Floor, Cole having returned to his position from the previous battle. Sarah had gotten her Pokémon healed by a Nurse Joy who had been present in the stands to see me battle. She now sat where I had been when she battled Cole. At that point, Cole made an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for the battle between me, and the younger Moul brother. Now, I have gotten a special request from Connor Moul saying that I am to use my strongest Pokémon against his little brother, so I am more than happy to comply with him. This will be a three-on-three Pokémon Battle, and there is no time limit!"

Needless to say, I was startled. Connor had seen that Marshtomp had nearly died against Aerodactyl not even three days prior to this battle, yet he wanted me to battle Cole's strongest team. I remembered the promise Arceus made to me in the Pokémon Hospital that fateful night, so I held faith that my team could handle anything Cole threw at me.

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" Cole shouted, throwing his first Pokéball. What came out of it truly startled me. A Lucario stood before me. It looked like a bipedal wolf with blue streaks through its mostly black fur, with yellow fur on its massive quadriceps. I knew this Pokémon was both Steel and Fighting type, so I chose to go with my own Steel-type.

"Go Metang!" I called as I threw Metang's Pokéball. When Metang appeared, he looked ready to battle his new opponent. "Metang use Psychic now!"

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere," Cole commanded. Metang's eyes glowed blue, and it seemed as if Lucario was trapped by the Psychic attack. The blue glow, however, was actually Lucario's own attack. He pulled his arms back, forming a glowing, blue sphere. I knew this attack would not end well for Metang. Just as Lucario launched his attack, however, Metang's Psychic took hold, freezing the wolf in place. The Aura Sphere kept moving toward Metang, but he dodged just as it went by, without taking any damage at all. Then Metang simple threw Lucario into the air without going through the trouble of lifting the creature. Since the psychic attack was twice as effective on Lucario as it was normally, Lucario was out of the fight with only that attack.

Cole recalled Lucario, but smirked still, and I knew that he was about to send a very powerful Steel-type out. He threw his next Pokéball, shouting "Go, Aggron!" The Pokéball released its occupant. The Pokémon stood on two feet, reaching at least ten feet tall, with the same steel plating as the Lairon that Cole used against Sarah. On its head were two sharp horns and a protrusion of steel coming to a point in front of its face. It had a long metal tail, and its shoulders had large, black-steel protrusions at the joints. It had a large mouth and two icy-blue eyes above it. I knew it would be tough for him, but Metang could defeat this Pokémon as well.

"Metang use Metal Claw!" I commanded. Metang's arms began to glow as he flew rapidly toward Aggron. Aggron, however remained calm, awaiting Cole's command.

"Aggron, Flamethrower!" Cole called at the last second. Aggron opened his mouth and unleashed a jet of yellow flames that engulfed Metang. I could hear Metang's shrieks, but I could do nothing for him at that time. The attack would do a great deal of damage to my Pokémon, but there was still a chance that it wouldn't take him out of the fight.

That was when I noticed a glowing claw swing from the blaze and arch toward Aggron, hitting with an incredibly strong strike. Aggron flew back, its attack stopped for the moment. Metang remained floating, his body now glowing red from the fire. Aggron, however, was not beaten yet. It got back to its feet, looking quite annoyed at Metang.

"Now Aggron, use Iron Tail!" Cole commanded. Aggron's tail began to glow, and he spun around, using its tail almost like a thick whip. Metang was no longer floating after the hit. I recalled him and sent out my newest Pokémon.

"Go Gible!" I called. The land shark dragon appeared, looking excited for this battle. It was so excited that it immediately broke through the steel floor and dug underground, without me even having to give the command to use Dig. Aggron and the entire audience looked confused until Gible came out of the ground and slammed into Aggron like a little bullet, finishing the task that Metang started, launching Aggron into the air. Aggron landed hard, and did not get back up.

Cole recalled Aggron, still smiling. I knew that he was about to send his Steelix out. I wasn't sure Gible could take down a Steelix. At least, I did until the results of Gible's win over Aggron came to light, literally.

Gible's whole body began to glow bright white. His arms and legs grew much longer, and his back and both wrists grew what looked like shark fins, while two teeth-like protrusions came out of each of his knees. Gible's neck grew longer, and his head became more angular, reminiscent of a Velociraptor, but with two bullet-shaped bulbs to the side of his eyes. When the glowing ceased, Gible had evolved fully into Gabite. Gabite definitely looked more powerful than he had as a Gible, but I still had my doubts about how he would do.

"Very impressive, Moul," Cole said. "Too bad it won't save you from a loss this time. GO STEELIX!" He threw Steelix's Pokéball, letting out the unnaturally golden, metal snake. Steelix looked to be completely recovered from his last battle with Sarah's Bayleef, without even a scratch on his glorious golden body.

"Gabite, use Dragonbreath now!" I commanded. Gabite let loose a stream of what looked like fire mixed with electricity. This was not Gabite's strongest attack, but it had the chance to slow Steelix down significantly. Unfortunately, Steelix was not terribly affected by that attack.

"Steelix use Screech!" Cole commanded strongly. Steelix lowered his head toward Gabite, and began to screech loudly. The screech made a visible distortion around Gabite, and was loud enough to make the audience cover its ears. Gabite, caught in the center of the sound, but was not visibly affected by Steelix's cries.

"Gabite, use Dragon Claw, aim for Steelix's face!" I called out over the screeching as best as I could. Gabite miraculously heard me. His claw began to glow with the same fire and electricity mixture as he had in his use of Dragonbreath. He began to charge against the force of Steelix's shouts, eventually getting to his opponent. Gabite swung his burning claws up and under Steelix's jaw, striking with such a large and unexpected force that Steelix's mouth was slammed shut and his head flew back. Cole remained calm, however.

"Steelix, come right back at Gabite with a Body Slam," He called. Steelix switched the direction of his exceptional momentum quickly, swinging the entire length of his body down at Gabite with incredible speed and strength. I didn't waste time with my next command, however.

"Gabite, go underground now!" I called. Gabite once again broke through the metal floor, and quickly made his way under the ground. It was just in time too, as Steelix came crashing down no more than a second after, sending vibrations across the Gym. Cole, however, was not about to let Steelix meet the same fate as Aggron had earlier.

"Steelix, ready an Iron Tail for when Gabite comes back up!" he called. Steelix's tail began to glow brightly again. I couldn't give Gabite a command to return to the surface closer to me, so I thought that I would need Marshtomp to finish this battle. Gabite, however, took a different route, surprising everybody in the gym once again. He came up out of the reach of Steelix so that any attempt to use Iron Tail would be useless for Steelix. I realized that he had learned how to use Earthquake, one of the most powerful ground-type attacks, as he sent out a powerful shock wave went through the ground, shaking the entire gym, and forcing the floor underneath the metal snake to shoot up with the force of cannon fire. By using Earthquake, Gabite did what even Sarah's Gardevoir could not: he launched a gyrating Steelix high into the air. Steelix came crashing down with an enormous force, denting the floor more than any of Cole's previous Pokémon had. Steelix did not even try to get up after that.

I smiled wide. I had just won the Platinum Badge.

Ch. 19

I had Gabite return to his Pokéball after we celebrated the victory, while a completely speechless Cole recalled Steelix. Sarah came running down from the stands, hugging me tightly and then she kissed my cheek. I took the chance and kissed her passionately on the lips. The crowd started to cheer and whistle at us, and we held that position until we heard Cole clear his throat right behind us.

"Do you want the badge now, or should I let you two get a room and come back later?" He asked jokingly. I smiled and chuckled at that. Cole held out the Platinum Badge. It was a chrome-colored circle, with no major design, short of a ring of bumps on the edge to look like bolts on metal construction projects. "I have witnessed and taken part in many amazing battles in my time as a trainer. You, however, have topped the list of my toughest opponents. The only exception was your own brother, and that was only because he had a Charmeleon and a strong Sandslash. You, however, battled with more style and tactics than Connor did when he came through."

"Thank you, Cole," I said. "I hope you can get those dents out of your floor. You made me work really hard for this badge." He chuckled at that.

"I designed them to be easy to repair, and I have needed to repair them far too many times to count now." Cole then faced the crowd. "You have all just witnessed the next step in the walk of two champions. I wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors, and I hope that they excel to the Pokémon League."

The crowd erupted with applause and cheering, while Sarah and I made our way back to the Pokémon Center, knowing we would need to get a room for the night before the audience took them all.

Ch. 20

Sarah and I left Pitt City early again that day, our packs full of supplies and our Pokémon well rested and fully restored. We needed to start our travels to Murkwood City, and to get there, we had to travel through the Lava Pass, which held many rare fire types, as well as many rock types that could withstand the heat of the area. We eventually came to the entrance to Lava Pass, which was a gigantic cave entrance that got darker until a bend that glowed red like fire. I looked to the trailhead sign. It read _Enter at your own risk: Dangerous Pokémon on this route._

I looked to Sarah, feeling reminiscent of when we entered Mt. Basteel so long ago, and said "Ready to go in?"

"Yeah, I think so," She said quietly. Just as I started walking into the tunnel, she grabbed my arm, spun me back towards her, and kissed me passionately on the lips. We stayed there for a few more minutes before breaking the contact. "Now I am definitely ready." She then took the lead, leaving me walking and smiling like a fool in love.

We felt the gradual increase in heat until we came to the bend, where the temperature easily reached a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The heat, however, was not what caused us to stop for a few seconds. When we came into the pass, we saw a thing of fiery beauty.

There were multiple rivers of lava running through the valley, with walls and floors that were made of obsidian. The number of Pokémon that could be seen from where we stood was also breath-taking. We saw multiple Magbies and Magmars, along with many Slugmas, Ponytas, and even many Vulpix.

I had not been planning to catch any new Pokémon in this cave, but I went looking around to help Sarah find anything that would help her with her choice of Pokémon. She wanted to catch a Vulpix, but she also needed a Fire Stone to evolve it eventually. So while she went looking for the Pokémon, I went looking for the Fire Stone.

Before I go on, I feel as if I should explain why a stone would have anything to do with a Pokémon evolving. While it is not known why this occurs, there are multiple Pokémon that do not evolve unless they come into contact with a certain type of stone. The stones needed to evolve a Pokémon radiate a strange energy that causes Pokémon to evolve and were thus plainly named evolution stones due to this use. The evolution stones were Fire Stones, Water Stones, Thunderstones, Moon Stones, Sun Stones, Dusk Stones, Shiny Stones, and Dawn Stones. There was one evolution stone, called an Everstone, which could be used on any Pokémon, but it actually stops a Pokémon from evolving.

As I was walking around, I saw a small pocket within one of the walls. I sent out Metang, and I had him punch into that spot. When he removed his hand, I saw the crystalline gleam of an evolution stone, and when I reached in to pick it up, I could see the flame-like coloration within the rock. I knew, however, that if Sarah was to get a really strong Ninetales from her captured Vulpix, I would have to keep this Fire Stone from her for a while, or at least until her Vulpix had learned every attack it could learn as a Vulpix.

As I pocketed the Fire Stone, I could hear Sarah cheering and I knew she had caught her Vulpix. I started to look over toward her, but I stopped short, seeing something that I had thought would be impossible. There was a Larvitar standing no more than ten feet away from me. It stood only a little more than one foot tall. It had a short snout and a long spike on its head, similar to that of Gible, but more vertical. Its skin looked to be made of green rock, with a small opening where his chest turned to a noticeable orange, with small black diamonds circling his waist. His tail looked like a frilled circle.

I knew that this was an impossibly rare encounter, so I took a different route from what I had used with my previous Pokémon. I knelt down, got some food from my bag, and held it out to the wild Pokémon. Larvitar started to sniff in my direction. It then cautiously began to approach me. Soon it was within arm's reach of me, but it wouldn't come any closer. I placed the food on the ground in front of Larvitar, allowing it to come closer without having to eat from my hand.

I heard Sarah running in from behind me, so I threw my hand behind me, trying to say 'don't come any closer.' Thankfully, she got my implied message just before Larvitar finished eating. As Larvitar finished his food, he looked up at me. I still had food in my hand, and he could clearly smell it. So he did what came naturally to him. He lightly bit my hand to make me let go of the food. I had to chuckle at this Pokémon's character, despite that bite. He knew what to do to get what he wanted. I knew that I HAD to catch this Larvitar. While he was eating the remaining food, I quietly took an empty Pokéball from my belt, and I touched the rock pokemon with the activation button. Larvitar disappeared into the ball with a flash of red light, and didn't even put up a struggle, almost like he wanted to be captured. I took a second before I also stood up and cheered at the successful capture.

Sarah came and hugged me. "How in the world do you get so lucky with these Pokémon? Almost every Pokémon on your team is a pseudo-legendary, and each one had aplomb in the capture."

I just said, "I have my ways," and started to walk out of the cave.

"Wait, Jordan!" Sarah called, "Did you find a Fire Stone?"

I decided against keeping the stone from Sarah, letting her make her own decisions. "I did actually," I said, pulling the Fire Stone from my pocket and handing it to her. "Just do yourself a huge favor, don't evolve Vulpix at least until we get to Igland City."

"I know what you mean Jordan; I went to Trainer School too." She took the Fire Stone, and we continued on our way. We walked through for what seemed like three hours to get to the end of the pass. We could see sunlight ahead and the hardest part of the day was over. The rest of our journey to Murkwood was unobstructed other than an occasional battle with a random trainer, which I used to train my newly caught Larvitar, and Sarah used to train her Dratini. During Sarah's last match, her Dratini evolved into a Dragonair, growing to just over thirteen feet long, with a spherical gemstone just under its chin. Its tail ended with what looked like the tail of a rattlesnake, but it was made of more spherical jewels that progressively got smaller. With the evolution of Dratini, Sarah appeared to be quite a proud Pokémon trainer.

The last battle I had was against a Fire-type trainer, named Joe. He was on his last Pokémon, while Larvitar was more than proving himself by defeating Joe's entire team. Joe was using a Growlithe now.

"Larvitar, use Dig!" I commanded. Larvitar dove into the ground, making a deep hole. Growlithe looked around, trying to guess where Larvitar would come back up. Growlithe, however, guessed completely wrong, and he breathed fire toward an area directly in front of itself. Larvitar, however, came out of the ground directly underneath Growlithe.

The force of the impact threw Growlithe back toward its trainer, where it collapsed, unwilling to continue the battle. Joe recalled Growlithe, congratulated me on my victory, and then headed to Murkwood City.

I turned to Larvitar, who was looking extremely proud of himself. That was when Larvitar began to glow brightly, flooding the surrounding area in a brilliant white light. I watched in happiness as my Larvitar began to grow, and change into the shape of a cocoon. As the glowing ceased, Larvitar's evolution into Pupitar was complete. It was completely grey, with a mask-like portion of its skin, with two large eyes visible. Near the bottom of the Pokémon were two small spikes that pointed out and downward.

I hugged my newly evolved Pokémon, laughing from joy about the evolution. Now I was ready to face the Murkwood Gym Leader, who was supposed to be an incredible Dark-type Pokémon Trainer.

Ch. 21

Sarah and I were sitting at a table in the Pokémon Center cafeteria, eating a good lunch. Sarah was relatively quiet for a long time. When we were both finished eating, she said something that I never expected to hear from her.

"Jordan, after this gym battle, I don't think I want to continue on the Pokémon League challenge," She said quietly.

I looked up at her in utter shock, not sure how to react. I still tried my best to stay calm, and not come off as a self-absorbed prick.

"What made you decide that?" I asked, understanding that this was my best option for the situation.

Sarah sighed, "I can't stand it when my Pokémon get injured in battle, and I don't want my Pokémon to get as badly injured as Marshtomp did in the Pitt City museum." I cringed at the mention of Marshtomp's near-death experience.

I opened my mouth to argue the point, hoping to say that it would never happen again, and how that had been a freak accident, or how she was being too easily scared, but I found that I couldn't. No matter how much I thought of how my arguments would sound, I only realized more that she was completely right. So I asked the only question that I really needed to have answered.

"Will you continue to travel with me, or will you be returning home?" I asked, worry creeping into my tone now.

"I think it would be better for both of us if I went back home. See, I realized that I don't want to be a trainer. I want to be a breeder like Seth, and I might as well set up shop back home as soon as possible."

I was beyond shock now. I wanted so badly to argue that she should stay with me, but I couldn't find the words. Stupidly, all that came from my mouth was, "I can call Connor, and ask if his Alakazam could take you back home."

Sarah smiled knowing that I had wanted to say so much more. "I would appreciate that. And thank you for being so understanding, I know this is not easy for you to accept," she said.

"No problem, I will go and make the call," I said.

I walked out of the Pokémon Center, took out my phone, and called my brother. He answered after two rings.

"Hey, little brother! How is everything going for you? Team Phoenix isn't attacking again is it?" he asked.

"Almost everything is fine, but I do need some help with something," I said. He listened quietly as I explained the situation with Sarah to him.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that Sarah is dead-set on leaving, and I will have Alakazam bring her back to her house," he said with a sincere tone.

"Thank you Connor," I could keep the sound of my sorrow out of my voice, but my brother gave me some wise words, which I know I will never forget.

"Listen Jordan, I know it hurts like hell now, and I know how you feel about Sarah, but believe me, you will become a far stronger Pokémon Trainer without having somebody traveling with you. When you travel alone, you can only rely on your own strength and Pokémon, and you will, therefore, need to become stronger on your own. I will be there in a few minutes. Start to say goodbye as soon as you can." He hung up at that, and I knew that it was unavoidable that I would be traveling alone from then on.

I walked back into the Pokémon Center, and Sarah was waiting for me at the table. "He is on his way now," I told her. "I just wish we could have more time to talk."

"I am sorry that I am leaving you alone on your journey, and I wish there was a better way," Sarah said. I was tempted to say that she could stay with me, that it was the better way, but I couldn't say it. I knew, as she did as well, that the sooner she started learning how to be a Pokémon breeder, the more likely it would be for her to be successful.

"I know it was a tough decision for you," I said. "Don't worry about me though, I will be fine. Besides, it's not like I'm completely alone, I mean, I still have my Pokémon to keep me company."

"That is true," Sarah said, softly chuckling, knowing that I was trying to lighten the mood. We talked for a while longer, not really discussing anything important, just pretending that we would be there forever. Just before Connor arrived on Charizard, I gave Sarah a passionate goodbye kiss. When we broke the contact, Sarah and I went outside where Connor was waiting for us. Nobody talked, knowing that it would only cause more trouble for Sarah and me. Connor let Alakazam out of its Pokéball, and, without saying a word, all three of them disappeared, teleporting back to Bath Town.

I stood there for a while longer before returning to my room in the Pokémon Center for the night.

Ch. 22

I stood in front of the entrance to the Murkwood Gym, ready to face my newest challenge. My Pokémon were in perfect condition, and were ready to battle. The building in front of me looked reminiscent of a martial arts dojo, but it had a darker atmosphere to it. That ambiance did not stop me from entering the gym, however.

As I opened the doors, the roar of a massive crowd hit me harder than a tsunami. I let the cheers wash over me, not letting it offset me. Instead, I let it exhilarate me for this battle, as I got myself ready for the challenge. The leader wore a ninja outfit with four Pokéballs on her belt, with arms crossed in front of her chest. I respected her discipline, having studied martial arts for many years. I smiled and waved at the crowd, eliciting another cheer to erupt.

The leader walked up to me and said "Good Morning, you must be the younger Moul brother. My name is Jade. Your brother came here yesterday, and he told me to fight you with my strongest team. Needless to say, I am more than willing to do so." Her voice was strong, but still had a sweet edge to it.

I smiled; it was just like Connor to make it harder for me to win a Gym battle twice in a row. "I knew he would do that," I said. "Just realize that even your best won't be enough to beat me."

Jade's eyes narrowed at the challenge, but she couldn't keep the glare for long. "I like your spirit Jordan, now let us see if you are correct," she said before running to her side of the arena. I took up my spot on the challenger's side, Marshtomp's Pokéball in-hand. I knew Marshtomp was close to evolving based on how he had been behaving lately, and by how long he had been in his current form.

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" Jade called out, throwing out her first Pokéball. With a flash of white light, the ball released an Umbreon. The feline Pokémon was almost all black, with the exception of a few yellow, glowing rings that would wax and wane in brightness on regular intervals. The most clearly seen feature of any Umbreon, however, was its glowing, blood-red eyes.

I sent out Marshtomp, knowing that he would be able to more than hold his own against this opponent. As he came out of his Pokéball, however, Marshtomp didn't stop glowing. He just continued to glow as he evolved.

Marshtomp grew taller to five feet tall, his cheeks grew two long spikes with one smaller spike between them. His main head crest shifted to his left and another crest grew in on his right. His arms extended, and the ends of his hands split into definite fingers. Lastly, his hind legs got much thicker than before, and a fin grew from his groin, becoming a large, rudder-like appendage. When the glowing ceased, I could see that his wrists had two orange-colored bumps, serving as a kind of armor. His head crests stopped at his distinctly orange eyes. Marshtomp was now a Swampert. A huge cheer erupted from the crowd. It seemed like my Swampert enjoyed putting on a show for the crowd.

I remained in my zone, even with my newly evolved Pokémon. "Swampert, use Muddy Water!" I commanded, knowing that he had just learned the signature attack of the Swampert evolution line. As I gave the command, Swampert shot a huge stream of water mixed with dirt from his mouth, but it was not aimed at Umbreon. Instead, he worked to fill the arena with that mixture. When the water became ankle deep, Swampert stopped, and his eyes began to glow lightly. The filthy water gathered into a towering wave, which rushed at Umbreon.

"Umbreon, use Faint Attack," Jade commanded. Umbreon turned invisible at the command, but that didn't stop it from getting hit with Swampert's Muddy Water attack. Umbreon was hit head on, creating a distortion on the front of the wave. It did not, however, leave through the back, as it was carried to the top of the wave, unable to maintain its invisibility. Swampert then swung his arms down with tremendous force. The wave followed his motion, crashing into the ground with a loud, crashing roar, taking Umbreon with it.

Umbreon stood up, still in good fighting shape, but clearly still injured. That was when it retried its Faint Attack. This time, however, there was no way for Swampert to stop the attack. Umbreon charged and struck Swampert in the gut. After the hit, however, Swampert only looked more pissed off.

"Swampert, use Earthquake!" I commanded. Swampert stood taller for a second, drawing in and lifting his arms. Then his arms shot out and down into the ground, sending a huge shockwave from where he stood. The shockwave caused the ground to crack and splinter. Umbreon could not move in time, and was thrown back nearly ten feet. It didn't get back up then.

Jade recalled Umbreon, clearly unhappy with the loss. "Very well Jordan, you have won that round. You won't win this time. GO SHIFTRY!" she called, throwing her next Pokéball into the air. The occupant that emerged looked a lot like a toy nutcracker soldier, but it was solid wood. From its head came a swooping mane of cotton hair. Its feet were two skinny wooden stands, with a perpendicular crossing block of wood. For hands, each arm had three green leaves. It was clearly a Grass type as well as Dark, but I knew that any Shiftry was blindingly fast, and he had a type advantage over both of Swampert's types. I knew I would need to be very careful in this battle.

"Shiftry use Giga Drain!" Jade commanded. A root sprouted from the ground, flying toward Swampert, and it would sap his strength if it made contact. I waited until the last second to give my command.

"Swampert, use Protect!" I called. Swampert was instantly surrounded by a sphere of energy, which stopped the root dead in its tracks not two inches from Swampert's chest. The root soon died without a host to drain from. Once the root fell, Swampert's shielding disappeared, and I gave the next command. "NOW USE ICE BEAM!" I called.

This time, Swampert pulled his head back, as if drawing power from the air, and opened his mouth as a sphere of blue light appeared. Then Swampert's mouth opened a little wider and five separate tendrils shot from the blue sphere. Each of the tendrils shot in a relatively straight line, looking a lot like bolts of lightning. Shiftry tried to get out of the way in time, but Swampert adjusted his aim exactly to where he needed to, striking his opponent with the icy blast. Shiftry stopped dead in his tracks as he was slowly frozen into a single block of ice. When Swampert had finished the freezing, he closed his mouth and let the beam subside. Shiftry's ice block fell backward, and shattered to pieces. Shiftry, still intact, came free of his frozen prison, but he did not get back up from the injuries he had sustained.

Jade was now visibly angry at her second loss, and I could tell she was getting desperate to beat my Swampert. She recalled Shiftry, and threw her last Pokéball, saying "Go Drapion!" The Pokémon that came from the Pokéball was a gigantic, purple scorpion. It had two arm-like appendages sprouting from its head. It had a long tail with two sharp stingers. It looked very sinister, but it was not as much a threat as Shiftry had been. So I only needed to give one command to beat this Pokémon.

"Swampert, Earthquake now!" I called. Another shockwave came from Swampert, who did not make as grandiose of a movement as last time. This time, however, the target was much larger. Drapion was hit by the powerful ground attack, and was thrown back nearly twenty feet. Drapion wasn't able to get back up after that attack.

Jade was now visibly defeated. She recalled Drapion, but did not send out her last Pokémon. Instead she made an announcement. "I cannot even mark your Swampert anymore, let alone defeat it, and my next Pokémon has a type advantage anyway. Therefore, I concede defeat to you, Jordan Moul. You are worthy of the Stealth Badge."

The crowd was shocked at first, taking a second to comprehend what had just happened. A minute later, they all erupted into cheering. I ran over to Swampert and embraced my newly evolved Pokémon. He returned the embrace, but he had become far stronger with the evolution, and it felt like I was in a vice grip for a few seconds before the hug ended and I recalled Swampert to his Pokéball. That was when Jade approached me.

"Congratulations Jordan, and I have to admit, not even Connor was able to beat me as decisively as you just did when he came through. Here is your badge," she said, extending her arm. The Stealth Badge was in the shape of a ninja's cowl and face mask. I graciously accepted the badge, but in the back of my mind, I still remembered that I would be without Sarah for the night. I returned to the Pokémon Center to prepare for the next day's challenges.

Ch. 23

The next day, I was on my way to my next obstacle: an old power plant that had been abandoned for nearly fifty years. I had to fight nearly twenty trainers who thought they could beat me while on my way to the power plant. Not one of them had even landed a hit on my Pokémon. The area had a large population of electric-type Pokémon, but I was not interested in catching any of the Pokémon in this area. I had already picked my first choice of electric type, and all I needed to find to get it was a Thunderstone and an Eevee.

Before I continue with my tale, I should tell you, Eevee is one of the most desireable Pokémon in history. Eevee itself, even without evolving, was a force to be reckoned with, and many people loved it for its looks. It is almost all brown, with white fur around its neck and at the tip of its tail. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like a cat. It had tall ears and big, black eyes. What really made it incredibly sought-after was that it was capable of evolving into eight of the eighteen known types, and each of its evolutions is among the most powerful of their respective types. Its evolutions were Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Umbreon, Espeon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon.

I was hoping to get a Jolteon, and there was supposed to be an Eevee Breeder in the next town, so my hope was to find a Thunderstone in the power plant, since this would be my best chance to find one. I would then go to the Eevee Breeder and get myself an Eevee.

I neared the structure from a very badly overgrown grass area. I half expected to find some bug Pokémon or even a Rattata, which had the largest population of any Pokémon species in history, but I saw nothing at all. I was not focusing on the Pokémon; instead I was looking directly at the gigantic building before me.

The power plant had three huge smoke stacks, with a base structure that easily had five floors to it. The entire building was made of concrete and steel. To the side of the building were the transformers that had been inactive for half a century. There was a really sign on the main door, it was written in blood-red paint, and it said: "DON'T ENTER, **IT** HAS TAKEN OVER."

I did not know what "it" was, but I didn't really care. I was not going to allow a fifty year-old warning scare me from my goals. I sent out Gabite and had him slash through the doors to the power plant, then recalled him. Even with the age of the warning sign, I was not about to get careless with my Pokémon in case the warning was still relevant.

The doors fell open, releasing a rush of stale, ozone scented air. I walked into the building without any trouble. I had expected to see at least some electric-type Pokémon inside the structure, but I was shocked to find the place nearly deserted. There were a few hardhats and workman's gloves. The building itself was silent as a tomb, and it seemed to be empty, but I kept feeling like I was being watched as I began to traverse the building. I pulled a flashlight out of my pack, aiming it around the entire plant, hoping to catch the gleam of a Thunderstone, but saw nothing. So I continued on my way, my flashlight still shining in front of me. A few times, I thought I heard growling nearby, but whenever I pointed my flashlight to where it seemed to be coming from, there was nothing there. I was getting even more worried by this because every time I heard the growls, I could smell the strong scent of negatively charged air. I had gone through three floors in search of a Thunderstone, but I had found nothing of value. The growls continued through the factory, and, despite normally not being afraid of anything, I was starting to become scared shitless that I was being hunted by something that I could not hope to match.

Just as I was about to give up on my search for a Thunderstone, I turned a corner and saw one in what appeared to be an office. It was sitting on a red pillow in a broken display case. I figured it had been left when whatever took over the factory first came. I went and grabbed the green stone with a lightning bolt design in the center of the stone. As soon as I placed the stone in my pocket, I realized that I had just seriously angered whatever had been stalking me, because an earsplitting roar came from directly behind me. I leapt at least a full meter into the air and away from the source. I turned to face this threat, and I came face-to-face with what many considered to be only a legend.

Ch. 24

I looked in fear and awe. The Pokémon before me was the legendary Raikou. He was the size of a small truck, and looked like the extinct saber-toothed tiger. He had a black ears and that black fur connected to a four pointed, metal plated nose. His head was wrapped in large white mane that came together between the ears. The fur around Raikou's eye, and around most of his body, was bright yellow, with white fur for his underbelly, and multiple black strips on the back and legs. His legs were as thick as small trees and each ended with three sharp claws. His tail, which sprouted from a white bulb of fur on his back, was blue in color, and shaped like a lightning bolt, ending with a star-like tip. On his back, however, was his most impressive feature: a mane of deep purple came from the back of his neck, and ran almost to his tail before swirling up like storm clouds.

While Raikou's appearance was incredible, I had absolutely NO time to admire him, because he was about to attack with a fury I would never see again. I threw a piece of metal at its head, hoping to daze it. Unfortunately for me, while it seemed to hurt the Pokémon a little, it really only angered it, and caused it to charge at me. As it leapt at me, fangs bared, I dove under it and rolled toward the door to the office. I started a dead sprint for the exit, hoping that I could get enough distance between myself and Raikou before it could find me again. I found a good spot to sit and wait for the legendary tiger to grow tired of me, and luckily got a few minutes of rest, but I knew I couldn't stay there forever.

I was still in shock that I had actually seen Raikou. I couldn't understand why it had chosen to live here. While a power plant was a fitting location for a legendary electric Pokémon, it still didn't make sense. All of the stories of Raikou said that he preferred to run freely through the world, not sit in an abandoned factory. I couldn't help but think that he HAD in fact run throughout the region for a while after taking this power plant for its home, and maybe it came back here to rest every so often. If I was correct, then it was just my luck that Raikou was here on the exact same day that I had come through.

That was all the thinking I could get in before Raikou found me, and I had to run again. This time, however, I tripped on an old wire. I turned back to face Raikou, terrified that I would die then and there. I had only one hope to escape this predicament, and it was an absolute long shot, but I had no other options. So I did the only thing I could think of, and threw an empty Pokéball at him just as he pounced. Thankfully the Pokéball hit Raikou without him noticing until it was too late. The Pokéball hit the ground and began shaking violently. In the meantime, I sent out Pupitar, just in case Raikou broke free. To my absolute surprise, the Pokéball stopped shaking, and Raikou remained inside, accepting his capture. I recalled Pupitar then went over to Raikou's Pokéball.

I picked up the newly occupied Pokéball, still not sure if I had imagined the whole thing, so I called for Raikou to come out of the Pokéball. Surely enough, Raikou came out, and it did not look very happy about its capture, but that look of anger faded slowly. I recalled Raikou, thrilled with the newest acquisition to my team. I then made my way to the exit, no longer concerned with using the Thunderstone on an Eevee, but I figured that some other Pokémon trainer would need it for one of their own Pokémon so I held onto it. I chose to not bother with an Eevee at all, since my team was nearly complete with an incredible array of types. I only needed was a fire type of some kind, but I was not about to turn around and return to the Lava Pass to get one. So I kept going to Char City.

Ch. 25

Char City was impressive to say the least. Sidewalks were made from solid granite, instead of concrete. The typical building was a skyscraper, easily containing thirty floors. I was slightly disoriented, but luckily there were maps throughout the city. I found my way to the Pokémon Center after ten minutes of searching. I walked into the building, going to the counter for general Pokémon restoration. The nurse behind the counter took my Pokéballs to the restoration machine, where she placed each individually into a slot. Two minutes later, the healing was finished, and the nurse was returning my Pokémon to me, but she had a confused look on her face.

"Ma'am, is there something wrong?" I asked.

"No, but I something strange happened. I could have been mistaken, but I thought I saw the body shape of Raikou in your fifth Pokéball. I don't know if the machines are malfunctioning," she said.

"Oh your machine isn't broken. I do have Raikou in that Pokéball, I just caught him in that abandoned power plant between here and Murkwood," I responded.

The nurse was skeptical to say the least, but she let that conversation drop. "Well, are you in town for a while?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure," I said. "I only plan on being here until I have defeated this town's gym leader, then I hope to continue on my journey through the American League."

"Well, if you aren't in a hurry to do that, then you should go to the Temple of Arceus after the gym battle. Even if you don't believe in Arceus, it is one of the most spectacular sights to be seen in this city."

"Thank you for the suggestion. I'll try to get there after my gym battle."

"I wish you luck against Ash!" She called, referring to Char City's gym leader.

"Thank you," I said as I left the counter. I decided to go to the cafeteria for some food for both myself and my Pokémon. I sat at a table in the Trainer section, placed out the food for all of my Pokémon, and then I let my entire team out. I was alone in the cafeteria, so I felt that there could be no harm in letting Raikou out as well. I watched over my Pokémon as we all ate our meals, thankfully without any interruptions.

After the meal, I went out to look for this Temple of Arceus, thinking it would be beneficial to reconnect with the god of creation before my next gym battle, especially since he had saved Swampert not much more than two weeks ago, and I had not gotten the chance to thank him in person. I wandered through the city for a while, not sure where to turn to find this Temple. Then I turned a corner and saw a huge crowd of Team Phoenix members, all of whom were carrying pieces of machinery and were walking toward a huge marble building, which I safely assumed was the Temple of Arceus, since there was a marble statue of the Creator Pokémon on the top of the temple's dome.

I followed the group of Phoenix members closely to hear any conversations between the grunts, but there were none. They continued until they reached the rectangular altar at the back of the temple. Once there, they began piecing together the machinery they had been carrying. I hid behind a large, spiraling pillar and watched as they worked. I held both Gabite's and Pupitar's Pokéballs, and I was prepared to throw any other Pokéball I needed to should the situation get worse. From there, I not only watched them carry out their work, I also noticed the spectacular structure around me.

The dome was painted in a mural of Arceus creating the world as we knew it. I was incredibly impressed by the artwork, and I had never been one for art appreciation. The main area in front of the altar was mostly empty, with a few marble benches finely carved from the stone. The altar itself was not as sharply cut as the benches. It had a completely flat top that looked like it had been sanded down and polished to perfection, and for a base, it was carved into four legs that curved toward the center of the altar in an "X" shape. The whole altar was made of solid, white marble and was studded with diamonds on each corner. To say that the craftsmanship was breathtaking would have been an insult to the true beauty of the Temple.

I watched for a while as the machine's assembly was completed. It surrounded the altar; at every corner there was a generator arm that came to conical points. That was when the temporary leader, who I realized was none other than Mike, pulled out a phone and made a call. All he said was "We are ready for you. Start your landing sir."

I had a fair guess as to who that grunt had just called, but I wasn't about to wait to take all of these Team Phoenix members alone, so I stepped out and sent out every Pokémon I had except for Raikou. I would need to save him for an additional scare factor. Needless to say, all of the grunts looked not only surprised, but slightly scared as well. There were more than a few grunts that were at the Pitt City museum raid and they clearly remembered me. They could also tell that I had gotten a lot stronger since our last encounter. They all sent out their Pokémon, mostly Golbats, and Mightyenas, but there were at least ten resurrected Pokémon, including a Carracosta and an Armaldo. There was a stalemate for a while where nobody moved.

Mike was the first to step forward. "Well, if it isn't the biggest annoyance we have seen to date. We thought Emmanuel wasted your Marshtomp back in Pitt City, but it seems you have proven us wrong in that respect. Unfortunately for you, you still can't stop Emmanuel, no matter what Pokémon you have."

"Well, Mike, I guess I will just have to make due with kicking all of your sorry asses to the wall and back. Besides, this isn't even my full team. SAY HELLO TO MY NEW FRIEND!" I said as I threw Raikou's Pokéball into the air. Raikou came from his Pokéball, and roared loudly. This scared all of the Grunts even more, but Mike seemed most concerned since he had the most to lose if the operation failed.

Mike took a second to speak, stuttering as he did. "That is indeed impressive that you have captured a legendary Pokémon, but it still can't help you, because, as you can see, it is nearly twenty-to-one odds against you, surely you can't hold us all off at once."

That was when Metang took on the evolutionary glow. He would be my first fully evolved pseudo-legendary Pokémon. For the first time ever, he came into contact with the ground, and then his arms rotated toward the floor, forming legs. Then two more legs sprouted from its back. His nose then spread into an "X" that went from the edge of the top of his form to the edge of the bottom. His "flying saucer" main body got wider and thicker as well. That was when the glowing ceased, and Metang's evolution was complete. He was now a Metagross.

Now Mike looked scared. "Alright, that was impressive. I just hope you realize that you will be in a load of shit either way."

I was now tired of this game, so I commanded all of my Pokémon to use their most powerful attacks. "RAIKOU USE THUNDER! METAGROSS USE METEOR MASH! GABITE USE DRAGON RUSH! SWAMPERT USE HYDRO PUMP! PUPITAR USE EARTH POWER TO FINISH THEM OFF!"

Ch. 26

All of the Team Phoenix Grunts gave commands to their own Pokémon, but nothing came out clearly, and only a few actually did anything, but it wouldn't have mattered if they had done anything at all.

Raikou's purple mane started to glow blue with electricity, and storm clouds began to form inside the Temple. A single bolt shot out of Raikou's mane into those clouds. As soon as the clouds gathered all of the energy, they shot it in multiple bolts at the enemy Pokémon. Each one was halted in their tracks. The attacks, however, did not stop there. Metagross drew in his legs and began spinning, staying in the air by spinning as quickly as a propeller. He then flew up into the same clouds that Raikou had just generated. He came back down with the force of a meteor striking the earth. When Metagross had come back to the rest of my team, Swampert shot a gigantic stream of water from his mouth with greater force than any fire hose could achieve. The stream blasted every single Phoenix Pokémon, throwing them in multiple different directions. Gabite then charged into the ranks of the enemies, his whole body covered with dragon fire. Metagross took an opportunity to assist again, his eyes glowing blue with his psychic power. All of the Phoenix Pokémon were shrouded in a blue mist, then set up almost like bowling pins. Gabite came charging in, plowing through the entire horde of enemy Pokémon, and once again sending them flying before he returned as well. Each Pokémon got up slowly, thinking the assault was over, until Pupitar came to the front. Pupitar's whole body began to glow golden with power. He leapt a foot into the air then came down hard. The result was a huge pillar of rock shooting up under not only Team Phoenix's Pokémon, but also the members themselves. The pillar threw the whole army into the ceiling of the Temple, and thankfully they did not cause any major damage to the structure.

The army of Phoenixes came down with a crash on the pillar of rock, which came back down to the ground slowly. As the stone settled, however, I could see that Team Phoenix's machine was still untouched. Luckily, however, all of the Pokémon and Phoenix members were knocked out from the last attack. I was about to go to the machine and have one of my Pokémon destroy it, but the sound of slow, methodical clapping from the back stopped me. I turned around and saw the only Phoenix member who scared me at all: Emmanuel. I had expected him to show up, but what I had not expected was him applauding my victory.

"You?!" I said, clearly angry.

"Me," Emmanuel said nonchalantly. "I must say that was a most beautiful performance. In fact, it was more beautiful than any battle I have seen since my last one-on-one battle with your brother. You have clearly improved since we last met. I would have offered you membership into Team Phoenix had this been under any other circumstance."

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly curious now.

Emmanuel chuckled slightly before answering. "Well, I like to have lieutenants who can hold their own against as many Pokémon trainers that life can throw at them. If you had just done this performance against anybody other than my own employees, I definitely would have offered you a top position in Team Phoenix. Now, however, I doubt any of my employees would even consider accepting your leadership. So, I have decided to just brutally beat you again, but first, I think I should show you what this machine of mine does."

With that, he pulled a remote control from a pocket, and pressed a single button. The machine behind me began to buzz with power. The machine's arms all sent a bolt of energy to a single point. As they collided, what looked to be a portal began to open up; on the other end of the portal was a glowing white area. I didn't know where this place was, but I got a strong feeling that I was looking where mortal eyes were not meant to gaze upon. That was when a loud roar erupted into the Temple, and it originated from the portal itself.

Soon, the portal had grown to the size of the entire temple, and it on the other side was such a blindingly white light that even the sun was dim in comparison, and neither I nor Emmanuel could do more than glance without hurting our eyes. Despite not being able to see the other side, I knew what Emmanuel had just done. He had effectively created a portal into Arceus's realm. Now it was only a matter of time before the Creator came into the Temple in its bodily form. I had only seen Arceus once, and he had shown me favor then. I knew I could not stand idly by and let Emmanuel try to control Arceus's realm. I chose then and there to stop Emmanuel.

"EMMANUEL, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A BATTLE!" I shouted more powerfully than I ever had in the past. Emmanuel, clearly surprised by my challenge, looked at me, his eyes wide. Before he could respond, another roar came from the portal, but this one sounded almost as if the source approved of my challenge.

Ch. 27

Emmanuel smiled then, "It seems our audience approves of your challenge. Very well, I will dispose of you in front of the god of Pokémon. I hope you are ready to be pummeled."

Emmanuel threw his first Pokéball out "Go Armaldo!" he called. I saw that Armaldo once again, and it seemed unscathed from the Hyper Beam it had taken during the double battle in Pitt City.

Since all of my Pokémon were already out of their Pokéballs, I just looked over to Gabite and nodded. Before he took his first step toward the Armaldo he began to glow, beginning his final evolution. Gabite grew to over six feet tall, and took on a form similar to its mother. The difference, however, was found with the back fin, which took on a triangular indent, and its snout became sharper and more aerodynamic. As the glowing ceased, Gabite had become a Garchomp. What was strange, however, was when the evolution ended, Garchomp continued to glow, but in a not like he was evolving. It looked more like a golden mist had settled on his body, but hadn't dissipated. I was confused about this, so I looked around and saw that all of my Pokémon were glowing in a similar way.

Emmanuel also looked confused, and a little angry, knowing that his hopes at victory had just decreased exponentially. I wasted no time taking out his Armaldo, taking advantage of Emmanuel's temporary distraction.

"Garchomp, use Dragon Rush!" I called out. Garchomp's body became covered with dragon fire and he charged at Armaldo. The resulting blast sent Armaldo flying backwards. I had never seen such power from my Pokémon, and I couldn't help but think that Arceus was assisting me in a way.

Armaldo did not get up after that attack, and Emmanuel was looking scared. Behind me, I could hear groaning from the previously unconscious Phoenix grunts. I didn't care, since I was about to sweep their leader's team with almost no effort.

I called Garchomp back before Emmanuel sent out his next Pokémon. "GO CRADILY!" he called as he threw his next Pokéball. The Pokémon that came out looked like a green barnacle with four suction cup covered legs. Its neck was a single stalk with a yellow joint in the middle. Its head was a bulb with eight frill-like flower petals around the back of its head. The head itself had two sets of two yellow circles that looked like eyes over a single black gap where Cradily's real eye, which was a glowing, yellow dot in the center of the gap, was located.

I called Garchomp back, and then looked over to Metagross, who walked with heavy steps toward the Cradily, which apparently was firmly attached to the floor. I wasted no time giving my next command. "Metagross, Hyper Beam now!" The metal "X" over Metagross's face began to glow with bright white light before gathering in a sphere at the center of the cross. Then a solid beam of light blasted from the sphere, landing directly on Cradily, exploding and throwing the Prehistoric Pokémon into the air. Emmanuel gave a command then.

"Cradily use Solarbeam!" He called. It was no use though, Cradily was already unconscious, and it landed hard. I saw that Metagross's Hyper Beam had not done the same amount of damage as Emmanuel's Aerodactyl had to Marshtomp during our last battle, and I was relieved that I had not killed a Pokémon.

Emmanuel recalled Cradily, glaring at me all the while. He then threw his next Pokéball. "Go Carracosta!" The Pokéball opened, unleashing a blue, bipedal sea turtle with a black shell that was separated in key locations for water attacks. Metagross came back to my side and Raikou ran out, knowing that it was his time to battle.

"Raikou use Volt Tackle!" I commanded. Raikou began to sprint toward Carracosta, his entire body becoming cloaked with electricity. As the attack struck, all of the electricity discharged into Carracosta's body, throwing it back, and it almost slammed into Emmanuel, where it remained.

Now Emmanuel was visibly angry. He was being defeated without even getting an attack off, and now all of his employees were awake and watching. He recalled Carracosta for his next Pokémon. This one was the Rock and Steel Type Pokémon Bastiodon. The Pokémon stood on four legs, with black, armor plating up to its knees with steel colored toe nails. Its main body was mostly a tan leather material, with a black, armor-plated backbone with steel studs protruding from each vertebra until its tail. The greatest feature of this Pokémon was a gigantic black armor plated shield-like head. The forehead was huge, with four tan studs that formed a square, and two steel studs like those on its spine on top of the shielding. It had two metal blade-like eyebrows and four razor sharp teeth protruding from a very impressive underbite. It was a very intimidating Pokémon, but nothing that my Pupitar couldn't take out with one attack.

Raikou had returned to my side by then, so Pupitar leapt out from the crowd of my Pokémon. "Pupitar use Earth Power now!" I commanded. Pupitar began glowing with power, then leapt into the air before slamming back into the ground again. This time, however, multiple smaller pillars came up in a wave, shooting up with incredible force, easily enough to punch through steel. The wave reached Bastiodon and proceeded to throw him from the ground and then, just as he came back down, launch him back into the air. With that, Bastiodon returned to the ground with a loud crash.

While the attack was over, Pupitar was still glowing. It was now his turn to evolve. The form of a Larvitar returned, but this time, it was at least seven feet tall, and it had multiple long spikes along its back. Its arms and legs were also thicker and longer, each with three sharp claws. His tail had also grown to almost five feet long, and it had a star-shaped spiked tip. When the evolution was complete, the rest of his features became visible. A Tyranitar now stood before us; it was reminiscent of the fictional monster, Godzilla. On his stomach, there was a blue diamond-shaped opening in his green armor, which had multiple sets of two black hash markings on its chest and legs. I knew I had to see what Tyranitar could do, so I left him out to face whatever Pokémon Emmanuel sent out next.

That was the last straw for Emmanuel, his face clearly reflecting his terror at going up against another fully evolved pseudo-legendary. He still sent out his next Pokémon. "GO TYRANTRUM!" he called out.

The Pokémon that came out was an eight-foot-tall, red-skinned Tyrannosaurus, but with a huge white collar-like frill coming from his neck. He also had an orange, five-pointed eye brow that looked like it belonged to a king. As of yet, this was it was the most intimidating Pokémon I had seen, but I was not going to let that stop me from winning.

"Tyranitar, use Earthquake, then follow that up with Brick Break if you need to!" I called. Tyranitar stomped on the ground, roaring with incredible strength and ferocity as a gigantic shock wave began to shake the entire Temple of Arceus.

"Tyrantrum, use Giga Impact NOW!" Emmanuel commanded. Tyrantrum's body began to glow with energy and it charged. It didn't get within a foot of Tyranitar, having been thrown into the air by the shock wave of the Earthquake. While Tyrantrum landed hard, it did manage to return to its feet, retaining its glow of power. This time it charged faster, looking angrier at being stopped the first time. Tyranitar decided, however, that Tyrantrum would fail once more. Tyranitar's hand began to glow as it prepared for the next attack.

Just as Tyrantrum was about to land a strong hit with the Giga Impact, Tyranitar side-stepped and hit Tyrantrum with an uppercut below the jaw, sending the monstrous dinosaur flying back several feet. It didn't stand up again.

I knew which Pokémon Emmanuel was going to use next, so I also knew which of my Pokémon would be facing it. I called Tyranitar back, and Swampert walked out into the open area. Emmanuel threw his last Pokéball out with a shout "GO, AERODACTYL!" With a huge flash, the pterosaur took form, and it looked even more powerful than last time.

It was Emmanuel's last chance at victory, and I had to admit, it was a good one at that, but Swampert and I wanted revenge for last time.

"Swampert, use Blizzard!" I commanded. Swampert drew his head back, his mouth open and a blue sphere of energy gathered before him. This time, however, unlike with Ice Beam, a gigantic cone of snow, ice, hail and cold wind came blasting out, and it was aimed perfectly at Aerodactyl.

Aerodactyl, however, was not to be beaten as easily as its predecessors had been. It took flight in a second, and got out of danger at the last possible instant. That was when I knew that the real fight was about to begin, and Emmanuel could actually land a hit on one of my Pokémon.

"Aerodactyl, use Sky Drop!" Emmanuel shouted. Aerodactyl swooped down, grabbing Swampert in his feet, and began carrying him as close to the portal as possible. Unfortunately for Emmanuel, Swampert was facing Aerodactyl's underside, leaving a perfect target for an Ice Beam.

"Swampert, use Ice Beam now!" I commanded. Once again a bright, icy blue sphere appeared in front of Swamperts mouth. Then five arching tendrils shot from the sphere and struck Aerodactyl in the gut. Aerodactyl lost its grip on Swampert and both began to plummet to the ground.

Swampert didn't go far before a gigantic arm of some sort reached through the portal, wrapping around him and gently lowering him to the floor. Aerodactyl, however, was not so lucky. He struck the ground with such force that the ground should have been broken, but it remained amazingly intact. Swampert returned to my side, and we all knew that I was the undisputed victor.

Ch. 28

Emmanuel was horrified now. He was defenseless, and the god of creation had been summoned by him, and it was completely pissed off at him. Emmanuel gave his grunts an order "LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, BEFORE ARCEUS KILLS US ALL!" They all ran to the doors, which slammed shut and would not open, no matter how much force was applied to them. Mike shouted a question to Emmanuel, saying "WHY THE FUCK DID WE THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!" Team Phoenix's machine started to overload on power just before it exploded.

I stood and watched this all unfold. While I was confident that Arceus would not try to harm me and my Pokémon, I still had all of my Pokémon use Protect just in case things got dangerous. That was when Arceus itself came out of the portal in its full size and power. He looked just as he had in the Pitt City Pokémon Center, but he now towered well over a hundred feet tall. I looked in awe at a being that no mortal should have ever seen in its full glory, and I found that I could not take my eyes off of him.

Arceus's whole body glowed as he began using his own attack: Judgment. This was the most powerful Pokémon attack ever, it could be whatever type Arceus chose it to be, and only he could use it.

Arceus roared once more. It was a roar that was so strange and alien to me that I have not forgotten it since having heard it. That roar was the trigger to Judgment as a gigantic sphere of white energy appeared, flickering between white and black as it swung around to the top of the dome, gathering speed as it accelerated toward Emmanuel and the rest of Team Phoenix. The ball of energy engulfed them, while it was still flickering from black to white until it finally came to rest on black. The sphere shrunk, into nothing, leaving no trace that Team Phoenix had even existed in the first place.

Arceus then looked to me, and all of my Pokémon returned to their Pokéballs of their own accord. The portal closed, and Arceus shrunk down to human size so he could look me in the eye. I then heard the voice of the Creator of Pokémon in my mind for the second and last time in my life.

_Jordan Moul, you have definitely grown much stronger since I saved Marshtomp so long ago. I have watched you with great interest since then._

"Thank you Arceus, but I owe my success to you alone. You did save my Pokémon after all," I said.

_Walk with me,_ He said, and I felt compelled to do just that. We walked through the Temple to where Team Phoenix had been.

"Arceus," I said. "What happened to Emmanuel and the rest of Team Phoenix?"

_That is tough to explain to most mortals, but whenever I use Judgment on humans, the attack either deems the target worthy of a blessing, or it deems them villainous and sends them to the Distortion World._ He said.

I was confused. While I had heard the name "Distortion World" before, I knew nothing of it. Arceus must have gleaned that from my thoughts, because he answered that question immediately.

_The Distortion World is the exact opposite of this world, and it is where my friend and counterpart, Giratina lives and rules. Unlike this world, the Distortion World normally only contains Giratina, but it is capable of holding an infinite number of beings, just as this world does. I will join Giratina after this conversation to properly punish Team Phoenix myself for their indiscretions, then, once the punishment is complete, they will be returned to this world, but enough of this topic. Emmanuel chose his path and got his just punishment for using Pokémon as tools of war. You, on the other hand, have captured one of my loyal servants, Raikou. He has informed me of your kind heart and undeniable courage. He has also conversed telepathically with his Fire and Water counterparts, Entei, and Suicune. They have informed me that you are worthy of the Pokémon of rainbow colors: Ho-oh. I have commanded Ho-oh to come here and test you herself, if you prove yourself worthy to her, she will become your Pokémon._

I could hardly believe what I was being told. Ho-oh, the legendary bird, only ever appeared to a trainer of the purest heart and greatest skill, and the other legendary Pokémon had agreed that I was worthy to be tested by Ho-oh.

I looked Arceus in the eyes, and I swear, despite not having a mouth, he was smiling at me. _You are the most worthy Pokémon Trainer ever._ That was the last thing Arceus said before disappearing completely, and the last thing he ever said to me. I walked to the doors and took a deep breath before opening both of the double doors. I walked out onto the street, where a large crowd had gathered due to the sounds of the battles, and then I waited. Behind me came the thunderous boom of a gigantic wing beat and the shriek of a huge bird. The crowd started to run back out of fear, but I just calmly turned around, unclipping Raikou's Pokéball from my belt.

Ch. 29

The bird that landed in front of the temple stood easily twelve feet tall, with a wing span nearly ninety feet long. The majority of Ho-oh's body was an orange-red. The edges of her wings were green feathers with white bases to them. Her breast and legs were covered in white feathers, while her feet and talons were completely black. Her tail had almost all gold with a lighter color on the ends of those feathers. Her head and neck were all the same orange-red color as the main body of her wings, with a single green ring of feathers at the base of her skull. There were black rings of feathers around her eyes, and on the top of her head was a headdress of golden feathers. Her beak was also golden, and it hooked down into a sharp, almost blade-like point. To call Ho-oh beautiful would have been an understatement.

One reporter from the crowd foolishly tried to come forward, hoping to get a better angle for the camera on the legendary Pokémon for her news station, but Ho-oh sent a plume of fire directly at the camera itself, melting the equipment in a second. The reporter scurried back into the crowd hoping to get the back-up camera in time.

Ho-oh looked me in the eye, both of us knowing that it was time to begin my test. So I threw Raikou's Pokéball out, intending to merely tire Ho-oh out enough to make catching her easier. Ho-oh spread her wings to their full length, and shrieked powerfully, and I knew this would be an incredibly tough battle.

"Raikou, use Thunderbolt!" I commanded. Five tendrils of lightning shot from Raikou, landing on Ho-oh's breast. The legendary bird took the hit, and it seemed to do a great deal of damage. Then Ho-oh's entire body began to glow and her injuries all healed instantly, as she used Recover. Then she reared her head back and shot fire that cycled through every color of the rainbow, colors that I didn't even know fire could be. Raikou luckily dodged Ho-oh's attack, which I assumed was Sacred Fire, without injury, but it was a very close call.

"Raikou, use Thunderbolt again, aim for Ho-oh's wings!" I called out again. This time, four of the tendrils hit Ho-oh's wings, and the last struck her breast again. This caused Ho-oh to freeze with her wings spread wide. I realized that now would likely be the best, if not the only, time to throw a Pokéball at her if I indeed wanted to capture this legendary Pokémon, so I unclipped the last empty Pokéball from my belt and threw it at Ho-oh.

The Pokéball was within a foot of Ho-oh's breast when she regained control of her body. What she did, however, was completely unexpected. She unleashed a stream of fire at the Pokéball. I wasn't sure if Pokéballs could withstand the searing heat, but I kept my eye on Ho-oh nonetheless.

Despite the jet of fire, the Pokéball struck Ho-oh, converting her body into red light before encapsulating it. The Pokéball landed on the ground and began to roll rapidly. I didn't move a muscle, praying to Arceus that this would work. The ball continued to roll around for nearly ten minutes before it stopped and the red light at the center turned off. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had just captured a legendary Pokémon, and it was one of the most powerful Pokémon to have ever walked, or flown across, the Earth.

The whole crowd behind me gasped collectively, knowing that they had just witnessed history. I had completely forgotten that they were standing there, but I really could not care less about who was watching what I had done. So I recalled Raikou, and then nonchalantly walked through the crowd, which parted like the Red Sea before Moses, with the exception of news reporters who flocked to me as I walked. I didn't answer most of their questions, not feeling in the mood to answer trivial questions. The only question I did answer was asked just as I had gotten through the crowd: "Could you at least tell us who you are?" they said.

I stopped and turned to whole crowd and spoke. "My name is Jordan Moul, from Bath Town. My brother is Connor Moul. I stopped Team Phoenix inside the Temple, and Arceus deemed me worthy to be tested by Ho-oh. Before I see my brother or my girlfriend, Sarah, again I am going to defeat Ash in the Char City Gym. I will see you all there." That seemed to satisfy the crowd and reporters, so I turned around and went back to the Pokémon Center.

There was a huge crowd of people in the Pokémon Center, and all were watching the news, which was a rerun of what had just happened outside the Temple of Arceus. I was curious to see a third person view of my own battle, so I pulled on a ball cap and walked into the crowd. I had to admit, had I not known the trainer on the screen was me, I would have wanted to battle him the instant I met him. I smiled a little and I had made it to the healing counter before removing my hat and giving my Pokémon to the nurse for a re-energizing. That was when somebody recognized me.

"EVERYBODY, HE'S OVER THERE! JORDAN MOUL IS AT THE COUNTER!"

I sighed, realizing that this fame had been forced onto me, and there was nothing I could do now but enjoy it while it lasted. So I stood on the counter as the wave of people came toward me. There was a roar of questions that drowned out each other, but I figured most of them were challenges. I raised my hands to quiet the crowd, which is, I must admit, an awesome perk to being famous, and then I told them what I had to say.

"First off, I am not going to battle anybody right now, I am exhausted and I have had nearly forty battles today, with nearly half of them all at the same time, so don't challenge me, you will lose badly anyway," I said. "Secondly, I am NOT letting Ho-oh out unless I am in a battle or I am flying somewhere, this Pokémon Center is not big enough for her to fit in anyway. Lastly, I want to go to sleep and prepare for my battle against Ash tomorrow, I ask that you leave me to my meditations and preparations until tomorrow so I can give you all the best performance possible. Thank you all for your support, and good night." The nurse returned with my Pokéballs in hand, which I reattached to my belt, and then I walked to my room, the crowd once again letting me through.

Ch. 30

The next morning, there was a huge ticket line stretching three blocks from the Char City Gym, but I did not have to worry about waiting in line to enter, people knew I was the challenger. Ash's gym was impressive. It was an orange and red coliseum with portions stretching up and out to mimic flames. It was made of concrete, but there were granite statues all around the building, each one portraying a fire Pokémon and its evolution line, if it had one. The lowest statues on the building being the primary forms and the lines stretched up to however many stages were in each line. At the peak of each of the tongues of flame was a legendary fire Pokémon. I must admit that I was impressed by the attention to detail and the skill utilized to construct this beautiful creation, but the architecture was not what I was here for. I continued to the challenger's gates where two security guards led me into the gym's lower level. That was where I met Ash.

Ash was my height, but he looked to be almost thirty, but he had a slightly athletic build. He had orange hair styled to look like a candle's flame. His eyes were surprisingly red, which I had never actually seen in a person. He wore an orange trench coat with tight-fitting red jeans. There were five Pokéballs on his belt, so I knew how many Pokémon I had to beat to win the upcoming battle. Ash smiled at me when we saw each other. "Welcome Jordan, I am Ash," he said.

I wasn't surprised that Ash knew my name already. I figured he had either seen the news last night, or my brother had done what he had done with the last two gym leaders. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ash. Let me guess, my brother told you to push me as hard as you can in this battle."

"You got that right," Ash said. "But before I go into a battle, I prefer to exchange pleasantries with my challengers, and you got a very interesting conversation topic, with your new Pokémon. I must admit, as a fire-type trainer, I am more than jealous that you caught such a strong fire Pokémon."

"That's the general opinion with every trainer I have come across recently," I said. Then I noticed the look on Ash's face, and I knew he wanted to see Ho-oh before the battle. I pulled Ho-oh's Pokéball off of my belt and held it up. "I don't know if she will fit down here. Should I wait until we are up in the stadium?" I asked.

Ash thought about it for a second. "I think you have the better idea, especially since everybody up there wants to see Ho-oh in person anyway. Just a heads-up, I have an announcer, so wait for him to introduce you before entering the stadium," he said. With that we parted, and began to walk to our separate tunnels to the gym's arena. The security guards in the tunnel radioed up to the press box at the top of the coliseum, so I didn't have to wait long before the announcer began to introduce the combatants today.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight's main event has begun. Please help me in welcoming Char City's gym leader, the fiery fury: Ash!" The announcer said. The crowd all stood and erupted into applause and cheering. When Ash had taken his position, the announcer started to introduce me, and I made a decision on my entrance

"Now, let us welcome the challenger. He is the hard-hitting, rising star of the American League, and brother of Hall of Fame trainer, Connor Moul. It's Jordan Moul!" He said.

I opened Ho-oh's Pokéball, letting the legendary bird Pokémon out with a flash of white light. When Ho-oh was out, I got onto her back, and she spread her wings and flew out of the tunnel. She soared into the open, and the entire crowd erupted into cheering. Ho-oh flew around the perimeter of the coliseum before alighting on the challenger's end of the stadium. She bent down for me to get off her back, and then I had her return to her Pokéball.

The announcer was talking once again. "What an amazing entrance for the challenger, although it may have been unnecessary to return Ho-oh to her Pokéball." Then he got into the rules of the match. "This is a three-on-three Pokémon battle. There is no switching out Pokémon without it counting against the Trainer as a Pokémon losing a battle. There is no time limit. Let the battle begin!"

Ash threw out his first Pokéball, which released a Houndoom, who howled like a wolf, but with a devilish twist. He was a mostly black, leanly-built canine with an orange snout and underbelly. He had a thin tail that ended with a spearhead. Around each of its four ankles were two metal rings. On his back were three metal ridges that went across the Pokémon's back horizontally. He had another metal ridge around his neck, which looked like he was wearing a necklace, which had a skull-shaped metal bump at the center of the Houndoom's chest. His head, however, had the most prominent feature of the Pokémon: two thick metal horns that curved out and back toward the neck.

I took out my first choice of Pokémon. "Go Tyranitar!" I called out. Tyranitar roared as he came out of his Pokéball, and he looked menacingly ready to battle. The announcer was starting his move-by-move announcing, but I ignored him, it would only distract me from the task at-hand.

"Houndoom use Sunny Day!" Ash commanded, starting the battle in a way that, even if Houndoom lost, his Pokémon would have a boost in fire power. Houndoom howled once more, and the sunlight seemed to intensify in that instant, getting both hotter and brighter. I didn't care about weather affects in this battle, however. Tyranitar wouldn't be affected by them too terribly.

"Tyranitar, use Stone Edge now!" I commanded. The ground around Houndoom began to shoot up as sharp spikes. Houndoom, however, was not about to be beaten so easily, and used the rock pillars as springboards to rebound between, never touching the jagged tips of the stones.

"Houndoom, use Solarbeam!" Ash commanded. Houndoom's metal rings and horns began to glow in a green and yellow light. From his mouth came a massive beam of heat and green light, almost like a Hyper Beam, but it looked more like the sun's rays. The beam moved quickly, but Tyranitar was faster, side-stepping away from the beam at the last second. I wasted no time responding.

"Tyranitar, use Earth Power!" I commanded. Tyranitar's fists began to glow with power at the command. He raised his fists into the air then slammed them into the ground. A wave of pillars shot from the ground toward Houndoom, but he would have none of it. Just as the wave reached the fire hound, he leapt nearly twenty feet into the air with seeming ease. I knew what to do then. "Tyranitar use Hyper Beam now!" I commanded.

Tyranitar's mouth began to glow with white light, which seemed to solidify then it shot out in a single solid beam directly at Houndoom. There was no chance for the hell-hound to move out of the way, and it took the full power of the blast. The beam exploded around Houndoom, who was shot out directly at the ground, clearly unconscious. I knew I couldn't let a Pokémon get too severely injured, espectially with the way that I had almost lost Swampert. So I gave another command. "Tyranitar, catch Houndoom before he hits the ground!"

While Tyranitar was slightly confused, he still sprinted to where Houndoom was falling, and he got there just in time. He caught Houndoom just three feet from the ground before setting him down lightly. The fire dog was unable to fight after that, so Ash had him come back to the Pokéball.

"I must thank you for saving my Houndoom, Jordan, but don't think that changes the fact that we are still going to battle as hard as we have been. Now, I choose BLAZIKEN!" Ash called as he threw out his next Pokéball.

The Pokémon was the final form of Torchic, the fire-type starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region. It was both the Fire and Fighting types, and it looked like an absolute badass. He stood well over six feet tall, with long, strong-looking legs covered in red and yellow feathers that had thick claws at the sole of his feet. He had a thin, but powerfully built torso with two arms that ended with hands that looked like the feet and talons of an eagle. His head was also shaped and angled like an eagle's, but he had no beak. Lastly, from his head came a forked mane of blonde feathers that looked like falcon wings during a dive.

I was nervous for Tyanitar, because Blaziken was characteristically blindingly fast, and they could become stronger than a Machamp if trained correctly, not to mention his literal fire power. I was going to battle to win.

"Tyranitar, use Earthquake now!" I commanded. Tyranitar started to draw his whole body close together, but he didn't get much more done, because at that instant, Blaziken attacked.

"Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut!" Ash commanded. Blaziken's hands began to glow, and he sprinted at Tyranitar, closing a distance of over thirty meters in a second. Blaziken grabbed Tyranitar with one hand, tossing him into the air with seeming ease. Then he leapt after Tyranitar and, just as the two met in the air, Blaziken's other hand came up into Tyranitar's dark midsection. The impact sent Tyranitar in a flip over Blaziken, and he came down hard. He did not get up after that, so I had him come back to his Pokéball, then I decided I would make Ash regret what had just happened.

"GO, SWAMPERT!" I called, sending out the best Pokémon for this battle, the one I should have sent out in the first place. Swampert came out with a roar, ready to face this Blaziken.

"Swampert, use Hydro Pump!" I commanded. Swampert reared up and shot a huge stream of water from his mouth with the force of a fire hose. Blaziken was fast, though, and he was able to dodge the first stream of the attack with seeming ease, but he did not get the chance to dodge again, as Swampert redirected the attack to where Blaziken was going to be, and it landed perfectly on time. Blaziken was hit directly in the chest and was sent back into the wall of the arena, cracking the stone.

That, however, was not the end of that battle. Blaziken shakily stood back up, then came sprinting at Swampert again. "Blaziken, use High Jump Kick!" Ash called out, getting desperate. Blaziken leapt twenty feet into the air and angled his fall toward Swampert, his leg outstretched. I knew this was Ash's last chance to win with Blaziken, so I decided to embarrass him.

"Swampert, use Mud Shot!" I commanded. Swampert waited until Blaziken was about to land his kick, stepped to the side just enough so Blaziken missed, crashing into the ground hard. He then launched a stream of mud that hit Blaziken in the side, sending him back toward Ash's feet, where he landed and didn't get back up.

Ash was clearly angry now, so he recalled Blaziken and threw his next Pokéball out, not even calling out the name of the Pokémon he had sent out. What came out was the fire bird, Talonflame. It stood slightly less than four feet tall, with a mostly grey body with orange marks all across its chest and the bottom of its wings. Its head and shoulders were orange with a short, black beak and a single orange feather at the top of its head. The wings became black at the ends and its tail was black with orange strips running across the feathers. It was an impressive Pokémon, but I felt the sudden desire to make this Pokémon look like child's play. I had Swampert return to his Pokéball, and I threw out the Pokéball of my newest Pokémon.

Ho-oh came out of her Pokéball with a shriek, her wingspan bringing shade to the entire stadium as she took flight. The entire crowd was in awe at the sight of the legendary bird Pokémon in all her glory. Ash was now scared about this battle, but he gave a command anyway.

"Talonflame, use Flame Charge!" Ash said. Talonflame became cloaked in flames and began to fly toward Ho-oh quickly. I chuckled at the attempt.

"Ho-oh! Show them what real firepower looks like with your Sacred Fire!" I called. Ho-oh looked at Talonflame and, with little to no effort, shot a gigantic stream of fire that engulfed the smaller fire bird, going through the fire cloaking it and striking the target. Talonflame didn't get very far after she was hit with the rainbow-colored flame, falling to the ground hard. That round was over, and Ash slumped visibly when he recalled Talonflame. He had been beaten handily and had even been badly shown up in the last round.

Ash took a second to regain his composure. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a badge, and walked over to me. Ho-oh returned to her Pokéball and Ash came up to me. "Congratulations Jordan. That was one of the most enjoyable battles I have had thus far. You pushed me hard, but you have to admit that you were just showing off Ho-oh a bit in that last battle. Now, take the Blaze Badge, and wear it proudly." He held out the badge to me. It was a simply designed badge, made to look like the flames of a bonfire. I was overjoyed as I took the badge and pinned it to my lapel. I shook Ash's hand and thanked him for the battle. The crowd was cheering so loudly that I doubt he really heard me, but he understood me well enough.

I walked to the Pokémon Center, arriving late at night, where I had my Pokémon healed. When that was finished, I went to my room for the night and went to sleep. I would be traveling again before I knew it.

Ch. 31

After that day, my travels were mostly uneventful, and so they went by quickly. I caught nearly every Pokémon I encountered from there, and I completely filled my Pokédex with the exception of the Cyndaquil evolutionary line. I traveled to Forestra City, where I took on the ghost-type Gym Leader, Hunter and, by defeating his Dusknoir, earned my fifth gym badge: the Specter Badge, which looked like a ghostly hand reaching outward. Shortly after that, I made it to San Danga, the home of the fairy type Gym Leader, Jorgan. When his Sylveon fell, I was awarded a Wand Badge, which looked like a magic wand with a star on top. Next, I made it to New Glancove, home of the Dragon-type Gym Leader, Dovah. He gave me the Wyvern Badge when I defeated his Kingdra. The badge was in the shape of a diving dragon, which brought me to my seventh badge. By then, my Pokémon had become terrifyingly powerful, each one capable of cleanly sweeping entire teams without taking so much as a Quick Attack. Then, two days of travel later, I made it to the last Pokémon gym in Igland City.

The city itself was located in a snow-filled mountain valley at the end of the same mountain range that housed the Lava Pass. The buildings all looked like igloos of varying size and material, although most were made of either wood or steel. A select few, however, were crafted entirely with ice, and they were architecturally sound even in the summer.

I had come through the peak of the mountain ranges in an eight mile hike, so I was way too tired to even consider going to the gym at that point. Instead, I took the chance to head to the Pokémon center and rest for the night. I felt like a night to prepare a strategy for the battle would not be a bad thing for me.

The next morning marked the day of my final American League Gym Battle. I was going to be facing the Ice-type trainer, Cryo. The gym was located within a frozen cave that was full of icicles and ice stalagmites. When I got far enough inside the cave, the gym's arena was clearly carved out and in the shape of a full-sized coliseum. There were no stands, but there were multiple video cameras inside the gym. The leader stood at the far end with his back toward me. He was an elderly gentleman who walked with a cane and hunched shoulders. He was mostly bald, with his sideburns still intact. When he turned around, he had a very stern expression, and his eyes were an icy blue, however, despite his age, Cryo's eyes held the sparkle of the perfect combination of determination and wisdom. He spoke with a deep, rich voice.

"Welcome, young challenger. Would it be safe for me to assume that you are the newly famous Jordan Moul, brother of Connor?"

I smiled at him "It would be. Now, would it also be safe for me to assume that Connor told you to hold nothing back in our battle?"

Cryo laughed, "He's done that at every gym you've been to, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he did, although I don't bear a grudge, since I have gotten much better as a result."

"Well, that is something that he knew the others needed to hear. With me, however, it is completely different. Your brother found this out when he came through: I never take it easy on any of my challengers, because if they have made it to me, then they must be better than the average, run-of-the-mill trainer. Also, your reputation precedes you. I know you possess Ho-oh, Raikou, and a slew of pseudo-legendary Pokémon, therefore, I will hold nothing back. Now, shall we begin?"

I walked to my end of the gym. I looked at the video cameras as I went. I didn't care what purpose the cameras served, but I assumed it was to make up for the lack of stands for an audience. I turned back toward Cryo, and took Metagross's Pokéball from my belt, knowing he would be both resistant to, and effective against Ice-type Pokémon.

"This will be a three-on-three match. Let us begin!" Cryo said and he threw out his first Pokéball. "GO LAPRAS!"

From the Pokéball came a mostly blue Pokémon with a yellow under-belly, and a grey rock-like shell on its back. It was about eight feet tall, and must have weighed close to five hundred pounds. It had no legs to speak of, but it did have four oar-like flippers and a long neck. It had large, soulful eyes underneath two spiraled ears and a single, small horn. I knew from my studies that this was both a Water and Ice type Pokémon, and it could be one of the strongest Pokémon of both types. I was impressed, but I still sent out Metagross, and he looked perfectly focused for battle.

I lead with the first command. "Metagross, use Meteor Mash!" Metagross started to levitate his body, drawing in his legs toward his body. He then proceeded to fly into the air and come hurtling back down directly toward Lapras.

Cryo, however, would not let his Lapras be beaten so easily. "Lapras, use Hydro Pump!" Lapras reared his head back before shooting a gigantic stream of water directly at Metagross, who was still hurtling at Lapras without much loss of speed. As he spun, Metagross actually was able to use the water to his advantage and pick up even more speed.

There was a sickening crunch as Metagross struck Lapras, hitting it on the neck and throwing the Pokémon into the cavern walls. Metagross then rebounded and hovered back to where I stood before setting down on all four legs again. Lapras had not taken the hit well, and did not try to get back into the fight afterwards. Cryo recalled Lapras, before turning back to me, a look of anger in his eyes. "I will make you pay for that, GO CRYOGONAL!"

This next Pokémon looked like a three-foot-tall snowflake, but it was only made out of ice, with two glowing blue eyes and a mouth that was made of multiple glowing orbs of light. The Pokémon levitated slightly off the ground, and it barely moved, but I knew better than to underestimate a Pokémon based on movement.

I gave my next command. "Metagross, use another Meteor Mash!" As Metagross flew into the air again, Cryo gave his command with such calm confidence that he must have known it would hit.

"Cryogonal, use Sheer Cold," he said. Cryogonal's body glowed as freezing power gathered. The Pokémon then shot a single beam directly at Metagross, who had no chance to change direction until it was too late. The attack hit Metagross directly in the center of the X on his face, and instantly Metagross fell to the ground his entire form covered in a thick layer of ice. When he hit the ground, the ice shattered, and Metagross didn't move. I had him return to his Pokéball, angry at that stinging loss, yet I couldn't help but marvel at the skill this old man had.

I grabbed my next Pokéball and threw it out. "Go, Swampert!" I called, letting out my starter Pokémon. "Swampert, use Brick Break!" Swampert's hands started to glow with power as he charged directly at Cryogonal.

"Boy, didn't you learn your lesson a few seconds ago?" Cryo asked. "Cryogonal, use Sheer Cold again!" This time, however, Cryogonal was too slow in getting the attack off, as Swampert punched the ice crystal Pokémon directly in the center of its form. Cryogonal was sent flying into the wall like Lapras before it. It then stopped floating and laid on the ground until Cryo recalled the Pokémon. He then threw his last Pokéball.

"GO REGICE!" Cryo called. This was what caused me to get concerned. Regice was among the most powerful ice-types and it was as much of a legendary Pokémon as my Raikou, if not stronger. The Pokémon that was released was made entirely of ice crystals. Everything, from its main body to its feet to its fingers, was made of solid ice crystals. It also had four ice crystal spikes on its back that looked slightly like wings, but served only decorative purposes. It had no face, but it did have a series of dots with five going horizontally across its face and three vertically, intersecting each other at the center dot.

"Now, boy, you will face defeat by ice." Cryo stated. "Regice, use Ice Beam!" he commanded.

"Swampert, use Mirror Coat!" I commanded. Regice lifted its arms, spun them once, and threw them forward, a ball of ice-energy forming instantly and shooting directly at Swampert. Just before the attack landed, Swampert body began to shimmer and take on a mirror-like coating before absorbing the Ice Beam. The coating then came off of Swampert and formed a swirling sphere before being shot straight back toward Regice as a beam. The attack hit Regice with twice the force that the Ice Beam originally had behind it, sending the golem of ice screeching across the ice floor, but it didn't end the battle. So I gave my next command quickly. "Now use Brick Break!" Swampert's hands began to glow once more and he charged fast.

Cryo, however, would not lose the battle so easily. "Regice, use Protect!" he called. Just as Swampert got to Regice and punched out, a green force field had been thrown up, preventing the attack from doing any damage. Swampert was thrown back and he slid to a stop, just a few feet from me. When the force field faded, Regice had not been damaged at all from the attack, buying Cryo more time. I wasn't going to give him more than a split second of extra time to think, though, knowing that Protect could fail if it was used twice consecutively.

"Swampert, use Brick Break again!" I commanded, hoping to land a hit to finish the match. Swampert charged again, his hands both glowing with power.

"Regice, use Counter!" Cryo called. Just as Swampert swung a punch, Regice reacted by grabbing Swampert's wrist before delivering an icy uppercut to Swampert's chin, throwing him back. Swampert was hurt badly, but he didn't stop, knowing that I was relying on him now.

I knew I had only one option left, and it was my last resort in any Pokémon battle. "Swampert, use Hyper Beam!" I commanded. Swampert's mouth began to glow white before a sphere of energy formed outside his lips. The beam shot out too fast for Regice to do anything, and it struck him on the dot patterns. Regice was thrown into the wall, and its back spikes lodged in the cave walls. It didn't try to get back into the fight after that.

Cryo sighed and had Regice return to his Pokéball. He then turned to me with a half-smile. "You bear a remarkable gift with your Pokémon, the likes of which even your brother would be hard-pressed to match. It does my old heart good to see that new trainers still take such care to raise Pokémon. You are more than worthy of the Gelid Badge." He held out a badge that in the simple shape of a snowflake. I gratefully took the badge from him, and pinned it to my lapel before having Swampert return to his Pokéball. As I was about to leave, Cryo grabbed my shoulder and said "Since you have eight badges, you should head to the American Pokémon League Headquarters in Olympian Town. The route to it branches out from your home town to the west, rather than to the east, as you did when you first left. I wish you the best of luck there, and I give a fair warning to you: the Elite Four are not to be trifled with, give it your all or you won't last a minute against them."

I smiled, "Thank you Cryo. If I get the chance, I will come to visit once I have beaten the League." With that, I went to the Pokémon Center, with sunset already approaching rapidly, and decided to rest for the night. I would be flying home the next day

Ch. 32

I was outside the Pokémon Center that morning, with Ho-oh out of her Pokéball, and she had knelt down for me to get onto her back. I had never flown on a Pokémon before, but I figured that it couldn't be too hard. When I was situated properly, she took flight. When she was over the mountains, she angled her body toward Bath Town. I was heading home for the first time in a month, and I planned to surprise everybody with my arrival.

The flight did not take very long after Ho-oh found an air current that sped us along to our destination. Once we were there, I heard some screams of fear from below, but I paid them no heed. At least not until a bolt of electricity shot from about where my house was. Ho-oh dodged it in time, and I told her to not respond in-kind. She angled down toward the source of the lightning and then alighted on the ground, right in front of my own brother and his Jolteon. The look on my brother's face when he saw me on Ho-oh's back was, in my opinion, priceless. I got off Ho-oh, and I approached Connor, Ho-oh not far behind.

"Trying to capture MY Pokémon, were you, Connor?" I said, jokingly.

That caused Connor's eyes to nearly pop out of his skull. "How and when did you capture a legendary Pokémon?" he said a little nervously. I realized then that Ho-oh was almost glaring at my brother from over my shoulder.

"Ho-oh, it's okay. He won't try to hurt you again," I said to my Pokémon before turning back to my brother. "Haven't you been watching the news? I caught Ho-oh a few weeks ago in Char City and I caught Raikou the day before that, but those are stories I'd rather tell only once. How is Sarah?" Ho-oh reached her beak around me to her Pokéball and pressed the activation index herself, returning to her Pokéball.

"She's fine," Connor said, clearly more relaxed now that Ho-oh was back in her Pokéball. "In fact, she has even opened her own shop, and it's bringing a lot of business to Bath Town. She may have seen your approach just now, and her shop is closed for the day."

Almost as if on cue, a very familiar voice came from behind me. "Connor, where did that Ho-oh go? Did you catch it?" Sarah clearly had not recognized me from behind. I smiled and turned around.

"No, but I did a few weeks ago," I said, still smiling.

Sarah was awestruck and speechless, and I knew my surprise had worked. "I'll take that as an "I missed you too," I said. Sarah then ran forward and hugged me tighter than ever before, and she even kissed me on the cheek. "I missed you so much," she said to me.

"I missed you too, and I have so many stories to tell you."

When she let go, I smiled at her again, but Connor broke the moment. "Well, do you two want to get a room, or should we catch up a little. I still want to know how Jordan captured Ho-oh."

"Well, then we should go to my place for some food and drinks while we hear the story," Sarah said.

Without any objections, Connor recalled his Jolteon and we all walked to the newest building in Bath Town, which was the same green and pink colors as a Meganium would be. It was a small, building, but the property was huge. There were beautifully flowering gardens throughout the property, and there were multiple small lakes. It honestly looked like Seth's Dragon breeding grounds.

We sat at a table behind the building with a platter of sandwiches and a tall glass of sweet iced tea. We all let our Pokémon out of their Pokéballs to let them relax and socialize. I saw that Sarah's Dragonair had evolved into a Dragonite, her Vulpix was a Ninetales, and her Bayleef had also evolved into a Meganium. On top of that, her Gardevoir was looking even more impressive.

I started by telling them the story of how I caught Raikou, and I told it well. They were both captivated by the story. Then I got into the story of what happened at the Temple of Arceus, and how all of Team Phoenix had been banished to the Distortion World, then about how Arceus granted me the chance to catch Ho-oh. This portion of the story had Connor and Sarah both on the edge of their seats. I then showed them the inside of my lapel, where all of my gym badges were, and told them about all of the battles Sarah had missed after leaving. When I finished the tale, Sarah was the first to speak.

"It seems that you have been really busy since we last saw each other," she said. "It almost makes me want to battle you."

Connor, however, wanted to learn more about the incident inside the Temple of Arceus. "You said that Emmanuel opened a portal to Arceus's realm, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, he did. What about it?"

"He almost did that when I last fought him alone, but I stopped him from starting the machine then. I guess he finally got what he deserved for now; I just hope he is gone for a long time."

"Arceus said they would be gone from this world until the proper amount of punishment has been administered, so we will see them again, and maybe sooner than we expect," I told him. Unknown to us, that at that very moment, Team Phoenix was being returned to the human world.

Ch. 33

Emmanuel and what was left of Team Phoenix stood huddled at what appeared to be the center of the Distortion world, and they didn't dare to move, especially knowing what awaited them should they displease the ruler of this land, and that same ruler, Giratina, flew in constant circles over top of the group. It looked like a gigantic centipede with three black ribbons with red tips that served as wings on each side of its body. The underside was horizontally striped in an alternation of black and red strips. It had three grey and gold-tipped spikes along each side of the body. It had three gold ribs near its head, which was angular with a gold plate in place of its face with an opening for eyes, which were black, sunken into its skull and had red irises. Around its neck was the Griseous Orb, an item that only Giratina could use, that made it stronger, and allowed it to go into its current form: the Origin Form. Team Phoenix had barely moved since they had arrived for fear of Giratina, who had thrown those who tried to run off of one of the many platforms in the Distortion World.

The world itself was immensely confusing, but none of the members of Team Phoenix who still lived had discovered that. There were places where gravity shifted and others where it didn't exist at all. There were points where the land tilted to the side, others where it was completely upside down. The description itself could take hours and still not be complete, as Giratina would cause a completely new shift in the landscape to confuse those who were banished to this world.

Giratina swooped in toward the group just as a portal opened in the sky and Arceus himself entered the Distortion World. He had done so only when new people were sent or when those who had been sent already were ready to be set free from the Distortion World. Giratina stopped his descent when he sensed Arceus and turned to face the Creator Pokémon.

_Giratina, these humans have been adequately punished for their crimes. Good job, that has to be your best time for it yet!_ Arceus thought to his closest friend among Pokémon.

_It was nothing,_ Giratina responded with a chuckle. _If these guys give you any more trouble, send them back my way and I will scare the shit out of them again, but they stopped being as much fun when they stopped running._ Then he flew away to another area in the Distortion World

Arceus then turned to Team Phoenix. _You will be returned to your homes in your realm, but the memory of what has transpired here will always remain in your minds._ With a flash of light, every Team Phoenix member was instantly placed inside their secret lair. Emmanuel was placed in his office and the grunts were back to their stations. Immediately, Emmanuel called a meeting to plan their next operation. When everybody had gathered, he began to elaborate on his plan.

"All of you have survived a horror the likes of which we are unlikely to recover, but there is one person who we can blame for what happened to us, that is Jordan Moul. By defeating us repeatedly and embarrassingly, this boy has made himself our primary enemy, therefore we are indirectly going to attack him, but in a way that will devastate him to the core, and will make him and the rest of the world see that our affairs are not to be meddled in," he said.

"What do you suggest, Sir?" a grunt asked from the crowd in the meeting hall.

"When Jordan first started his journey, he traveled with a girl of the same age as him, her name is Sarah. She recently left him to become a Pokémon Breeder, and she has been in Bath Town ever since. My suggestion is simply to kidnap Sarah to lure Jordan to us. When we get him to our hideout, we will overwhelm him so greatly that he will be on his knees begging us to stop and to let Sarah go. We will set her free, but then we will keep him prisoner. We will then hack into every major news station and start a broadcast. Our last step shall be to painfully execute him in front of a global audience. Then, not even the police will try to stand in our way ever again."

Mike spoke up then. "Sir, with all due respect, we were nearly killed by Jordan's Pokémon when we were twenty strong and he was alone. Do you really think that we can do what you suggest with even fewer members?"

Emmanuel smiled at that. "I know, but I am in contact with Team Rocket, Plasma, Aqua, Magma, Flare, and Galactic, and they are all sympathetic to our plight, especially since they were all defeated and forced underground by ten year-old trainers. They have sent their own members to our lair to assist us in this, and the leaders are all coming along with them. We shall be united under the combined leadership of me, Giovanni, Archie, Maxie, N, Ghetsis, Colress, Cyrus, and Lysandre."

That caused some elation among Team Phoenix, and at just that moment the rotors of multiple helicopters could be heard from above. The rest of the criminal organizations had arrived.

Giovanni and Lysandre were the first to arrive, followed by Archie and Maxie, who had settled their feud for the time being, then came Cyrus along with N, Colress, and Ghetsis. After them came a small army of every team, all ready for battle.

"Welcome to our esteemed guests. I am glad that you could all make it on such short notice."

Giovanni spoke first. "We were much obliged with the chance to regain our lost glory, Emmanuel. In fact, we really couldn't refuse the offer you gave. I just hope that this boy is as good as you say, because my Pokémon haven't had a good battle since we were beaten in our own gym by Red himself."

Emmanuel smiled, "So I heard, but the tales of our defeats are not the reason we are here," he said, then he segued into the other, originally unspoken reason for inviting all the other organizations here. "Now, I do have another interesting proposal for all of you. We have all been defeated by children, or, in my case, a teenager. I suggest now that we pool our individually immense resources and unite as the same organization?"

That caught the attention of the rest of every organization leader. Archie spoke up then. "If we were to do this, what exactly would we be trying to achieve?"

"We would follow a business model of Team Rocket by opening casinos and other attractions to draw in money from around the world. This will supply the necessary funds to track down, and defeat every trainer who ever made a mockery of us. This includes Red, Gold, Brendan, May, Lucas, Dawn, Hilbert, Hilda, Serena, and Calem. All of them have made fools of us, and all deserve the same fate that Jordan will receive soon. After Jordan is defeated, we shall raid the location that all of these trainers have gathered, on Mount Creshlington"

That resulted in applause from all of those present, but there was still one issue to settle, which N brought up.

"I do agree that this would work with all of us working together, but I must ask about something trivial. Whose banner shall we rally behind?" He asked.

Emmanuel looked to all of the leaders. "I understand that all of you have created a formidable criminal empire on your own, and I above all others understand the struggle that we have gone through. I believe that we should all rally behind Team Phoenix's emblem. If not the Phoenix, then what other option really fits our situation. Are we not all now personifying the metaphor of the phoenix by rising from the ashes of our own defeat? What do you all say to this suggestion?" Emmanuel was not disappointed in the response, as the entire gathering roared in applause.

With that, the grunts, administrators, and executives split into their own separate groups. The grunts and administrators of the organizations started to get to know one another, since they would be working together for a while. The executives all went to a separate meeting room where they could collaborate on how to go about with this new plan and organization.

Ch. 34

I was back in my room at home, sleeping lightly late at night. Connor had gone out west earlier in the day, his reason being that he wanted to get some extra training in with his Pokémon. So I had been alone with my parents for the first night since I had left for my journey.

At around two 'o' clock in the morning, I was shocked awake when a helicopter roared overhead. My heart was racing, but when I didn't hear anything again for a while, I dismissed it as just a passing occurrence. I was about to go back to sleep when, suddenly, what sounded like ten more helicopters began to fly over. I ran to my window and looked to where they seemed to be going, and my heart dropped. They were circling Sarah's house.

I grabbed my belt and all of my Pokéballs and sprinted out without regarding my appearance. I let Raikou out, and got on his back as he sprinted to Sarah's home. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, though. The helicopters bore the insignia of the long-disbanded Team Rocket, but there were people from the helicopters who were wearing uniforms from Team Aqua, Magma, Plasma, Galactic, Rocket, Flare, and even Team Phoenix, all of whom should have still been in the Distortion World. I got there just as an incredibly strong Team Aqua administrator came out of the house with Sarah held tightly to his chest by one arm, and he was dragging her to the closest helicopter.

I was too heavily outmanned, and I knew that I couldn't stop them on my own, but I kept going anyway. I couldn't let this coup of criminal organizations take away the girl I loved, even if I lost my own life in the process. So I gave a command to my Pokémon. "Raikou, use Thunder, don't hit the helicopter that Sarah is in."

Raikou's purple mane gathered electric power as thick storm clouds formed over the helicopters. Then the lightning in Raikou's mane shot into the clouds, causing the entire group at Sarah's house to turn their heads toward me, but that split second of distraction cost them dearly as the lightning struck the main bodies of every helicopter except the one the Team Aqua administrator was now piloting. Unfortunately, the helicopters were made of electricity-resistant material, so the attack had no effect. So I switched tactics, recalling Raikou as he came to a stop, and sending out Ho-oh. "Ho-oh, use Flamethrower!"

Ho-oh shot out streams of flame, each one almost striking the helicopter rotors, but an unseen force stopped the flames from touching them. That was when I noticed that there were multiple psychic-type Pokémon on each of the helicopters, and each was throwing up protection of their own. I realized, to my absolute devastation, that there was nothing I could do to save Sarah. I felt helplessness for the first time, and I fell to my knees before having Ho-oh return to her Pokéball.

As the brigade of helicopters prepared to fly away, somebody threw some type of device from the chopper with a small parachute. It landed a short distance from me, so I picked it up only to find out that it was a GPS device with coordinates already set into it. On the back was a note, which read: "Follow the directions and just try to rescue her. You will see that we have grown exponentially." It was signed by Emmanuel, along with Giovanni, Lysandre, N, Ghetsis, Colress, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie.

For the first time in my entire life, I felt absolute terror, and I knew that I was hopelessly outmatched by this new force. I turned to the only person I knew who had any chance of helping me.

Ch. 35

Connor was slow to pick up his phone when I called, and he was half asleep when he did. "Jordan, what's going on that couldn't wait until morning?" he asked groggily.

"They've taken Sarah!" I said, knowing that hearing that would wake him up completely.

"What?! Who are they?"

"Sarah was just kidnapped in a helicopter raid on her house. I don't know why, but members of literally every major criminal organization in the entire world came in Team Rocket helicopters. They left a GPS and a note addressed to me telling me to come get her."

"It sounds like a trap Jordan," he said.

"I know. But I don't care. I'm going to rescue her anyway; I'm only calling to see if you will help me with this."

There was silence on the other end as Connor thought for a while. He finally spoke after a minute. "Jordan, have you ever heard of the League of Legendary Trainers?"

I was slightly taken aback at the sudden change of topic, but I trusted that my brother knew what he was talking about. "Yes, I have, but what have they got to do with anything?" I asked.

"Well, they have all taken down each of the individual criminal organizations on their own. I have the phone number for their headquarters, and you could probably get them to help, if not fight all the battles to clear the way for you."

That gave me a glimmer of hope, so I got the phone number as quickly as possible, thanked my brother for his help, then called the League headquarters. The answer came quickly, but the tone was not entirely friendly at first.

"Who is calling?" said a clearly masculine voice from the other end.

I didn't hesitate to respond, given the state of urgency. "My name is Jordan Moul. I am from the American League. I am calling to get help immediately."

"Well, Jordan, you should know that we don't help with everyday incidents, only with global catastrophes, so–"

"ALL OF THE MAJOR CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS HAVE MERGED INTO ONE!" I shouted, cutting him off before he could get any further.

There was a slight pause, "I want to make sure I heard that right. You said that EVERY criminal organization in the world has merged into one, correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"Do you have any information about where they are now?"

"I do. I am in Bath Town and I have a GPS with preset coordinates to the new headquarters."

"Then we will send Brendan out to get it from you so we can stop this from getting worse-"

"No, I am sorry, but no. I'm not going to sit idly by and watch somebody else stop them. I want to be a part of the attack."

There was more silence. "Jordan, I'm sorry, but we can't let you into this without knowing that you won't get hurt."

"I have all eight badges in the American League, I have battled and defeated Team Phoenix on multiple occasions, and I am in possession of a Raikou, a Ho-oh, a Swampert, a Metagross, a Garchomp, and a Tyranitar. I am coming with the League."

"Alright, I'll admit that it is an impressive team, and with eight badges you could probably hold your own. I just have one question for you. Why do you _want_ to be in this assault?"

I took a deep breath to steady myself. "They abducted my girlfriend to lure me to them."

That took away the last argument that the other person had. "Very well, we will Teleport to Bath Town at dawn. Be ready then."

"Don't worry," I said. "I am more ready than ever before."

Ch. 36

Just as the sun's rays had broken the horizon, the first of the League of Legendary Trainers teleported with his Alakazam. The first was Red, who was considered the strongest Pokémon trainer in the entire world. He came up to me extending his hand. "You must be Jordan. It is good to meet you in person, especially after that heated conversation on the phone."

I laughed slightly, but I wasn't really in the mood for levity, so I greeted him politely as the rest of the League arrived. "Welcome, and thank you for coming."

"Well, you didn't really leave us much of an option," he said with a laugh. When I didn't respond in kind he rested his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about Sarah. We will get her back safely, I swear to you."

I was then introduced to Gold and Crystal of the Johto Region, Brendan and May of the Hoenn Region, Lucas and Dawn of the Sinnoh Region, Hilda and Hilbert of the Unova Region, then finally Serena and Calem of the Kalos region. It was humbling for me to even be in their presence, knowing that these trainers had all gone through every region and had won where so many others had failed. At the same time, they were all very understanding and supportive of my situation. When everybody had arrived, we all sent out our own flying Pokémon for the journey. Red sent out his Charizard, Gold sent out a Pidgeot, Brendan had a Salamence, May used a Flygon, Lucas and Dawn both had Staraptors, while Hilda used a Skarmory, Hilbert used a Crobat, Serena used a Noivern, and Calem a Gliscor. As all of the Pokémon got ready for the flight to the criminal hideout, I released Ho-oh from her Pokéball, and she looked well rested even after the previous night's raid. Everybody got situated for the flight, and Ho-oh took the center position, I had the GPS in my hand, and activated.

Ho-oh leapt into the air, followed swiftly by the rest of the League. As the formation solidified, we began to head west. The GPS led us perfectly, bringing us directly to a gigantic mountain that could have easily held the current army that was within. We all landed at the base's only entrance and had our Pokémon return to their Pokéballs.

We all got to the door and got ready to enter. Just before we breached the door, another Charizard roared in the distance. We all turned around and I smiled; it was none other than my brother. When he landed, he came to me immediately, almost disregarding the others.

"You didn't think I would let you be the only Moul brother to get glory for today, did you?" He said.

I broke into a smile, "Not a chance. Thank you for coming, now we should all stand back." We all got a good distance from the door as May, Brendan and I all sent out our Metagrosses, commanding them to use a Meteor Mash. All three of the gigantic robotic Pokémon came out of their Pokéballs spinning through the air. They crashed into the doors, breaking them off of their hinges. We recalled our Pokémon as I took point entering the complex.

There were six guards on duty at that position, and they were all from different organizations. They had already sent out their Pokémon, which were almost all Golbats, with the exception of a Carvanha from the Team Aqua member. I held up my hand signaling for the others to let me handle this, as I sent out my Tyranitar, giving him the order to just use Stone Edge and end this resistance now.

Tyranitar did as commanded, the sharp-edged stone pillars ending the battle for every enemy combatant in an instant, leaving only enough time for their trainers to recall the Pokémon into their Pokéballs.

I recalled Tyranitar then proceeded over to the group, who still looked determined to stop us. The one from Team Phoenix charged at me with his fist raised. This was the catalyst that caused me to just stop giving a damn whether I committed a crime on this mission, so I blocked the punch, and proceeded to hit him in the sternum with a roundhouse knee, doubling him over perfectly for a dropping elbow to the back of the neck, crumpling him to the floor. The others were much more compliant after that, so I grabbed the closest one, and sent out my Swampert.

"Alright, you all have about thirty seconds each to tell me where your new captive is, or I will have Swampert here freeze you all solid. If one of you gives me the information, then I spare everybody, if not then you will be incredibly cold for a few days. Capeesh?" Swampert gave me an incredulous look when he heard what I had said, but was still ready to obey.

The member of Team Rocket broke with just that, "Alright, she is at the top level in the conference room. She is surrounded by the bosses, and all of them are waiting for you." I turned around, and fell silent. "Are you going to let us go?" he asked.

"Leave this place before I change my mind, and believe me, you don't want that," I said, my pure hatred for this entire organization clear in my voice. They all got the hint and sprinted out of the facility, taking only what they were clothed in.

Everybody came into the facility after the guards left. Red gave a command to the rest to split up and take out as many guards as they could to clear the way to the executives. Connor stayed behind.

"Jordan, look at me." He said. I looked directly into his eyes, and what he saw in mine must have concerned him greatly.

"You saw what I just did, didn't you?" I asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed for my rash actions.

He nodded, but he bore no judgment. "I understand what you are feeling, but you have to get control over yourself. You can't battle like this, and you may end up doing something so terrible in your rage that you drive Sarah away, even after rescuing her. We are going to get her out of here safely, just battle as you always have."

I took multiple deep breaths and gained full control over myself. I turned to Swampert and apologized to him for how I acted, but I saw that he had already forgiven me for it. "Thanks for talking sense into me Connor. I'm going straight to the top floor, so go have fun toying with the grunts and lower administrators. I'm going to the top floor to save Sarah."

Connor shook his head with a chuckle, "There is that unstoppable determination. Well, good luck, once the job is done down here we will all be up there to back you up should you need it."

"Thank you. Now I must go. I have a date with destiny."

Ch. 37

I found my way to the stairs, where I found Dawn and Calem taking out grunts with an Empoleon and a Greninja respectively, and each was playing off of the other's attacks to amplify their own. As I made my way through the floors, I casually took out grunts who were not currently occupied by one of the league members, and each one was taking on a great deal of them alone. I knew that, had I stopped to watch even one of the battles, I could have learned a great deal about how to battle even more effectively, but I had a single purpose with this raid, and that was not it.

Finally, I came to the door to the executive meeting area, and my Garchomp was all too happy to cut through the door to get inside. I stepped inside, ready to battle, but I found the place completely empty except for a note on the desk. I had Garchomp return to his Pokéball and I went over to the note.

It read: "Obviously, this is not a suitable place for a battle, come to the top of the mountain, see if you can beat all of us. Come alone, and bring no others with you, or we will kill her."

Sitting next to the note was a map of the facility, with a red-ink circle around another set of stairs leading to the peak of the mountain. I ran out of the room and sprinted in the direction of the indicated stairway. I found it without trouble and ran out into the open, directly onto the sideline of a standard Pokémon stadium. On the side opposite me was the contingent of criminal bosses, with Sarah bound to a chair and gagged sitting in the middle of the group.

Emmanuel immediately spoke. "So Jordan, you decided to follow us foolishly. We certainly weren't expecting you to bring the League of Legendary Trainers with you, but that has just made our job so much easier. Now you will get to battle every one of us without rest and without mercy. If you beat us all, then we might release Sarah. The second you lose, however…" He pulled out a .44 Magnum revolver and pointed it directly at Sarah's temple. "Then I will pull this trigger and have not lose a second of sleep over it."

"EMMANUEL, STOP!" I called out, desperation clear in my voice.

"Or what, Moul?"

"I am begging you to let her go free. Your anger is with me, and only me, let her go and battle me as a man."

"Oh, I'm not doing this out of any anger," he said with a menacing chuckle. "This is to send a message to the world that the new Team Phoenix cannot be stopped, and any who try will be dealt with in the most severe way imaginable."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I knew I had no choice but to battle all of the executives, however they saw fit. I didn't fight anymore, and I took my position in the stadium. On the other side, Lysandre was the first who would challenge me.

"These battles will all be to the last Pokémon standing. Begin!" Giovanni announced.

Lysandre threw his first Pokéball. "Go, Pyroar!" He called out. The Pokémon that was released was a lion with an orange-red mane, blue eyes, and dark brown fur from its back to its ankles, which then turned to a tan color. I knew this was a Fire/Normal dual-typed Pokémon, so I sent out a Pokémon to counter it.

"Go, Garchomp!" I called out as my dragon came out of his Pokéball. He was clearly ready to battle, so I gave a command immediately. "Garchomp, use Earth Power now!"

Garchomp stomped once, causing the ground to come up as a wave, moving swiftly toward Pyroar, but Lysandre was fast to respond. "Pyroar, use Protect!" he commanded. A force field appeared, causing the wave to split and miss the lion altogether.

I had known that Lysandre wouldn't be so easily fooled, and gave a command as quickly as possible. "Garchomp, Draco Meteor!" Garchomp leapt into the air, flying to astounding heights, circling the arena, sending bursts of dragon fire into the center of his circle. Eventually, the attack had become a sphere with the diameter of the width of the stadium. Garchomp flew to the top of the sphere and kicked it directly at Pyroar with such great force that the attack must have broken the sound barrier. Pyroar had no chance to dodge, so Lysandre commanded another Protect. Pyroar's attempt to protect himself failed, however, and he was engulfed by the dragon fire.

Once the smoke cleared, Garchomp had landed directly in front of me, ready for the next opponent. Then I looked over at Pyroar, who was on his side, smoke was coming from his body, and he didn't try to get up. Lysandre recalled the Pokémon, and then selected his next.

"Go, Honchkrow!" The Pokémon was, as the name suggests, a crow-like Pokémon, but it appeared to be wearing a neckerchief and the feathers on its head resembled a fedora. It had a mostly black body with a red tail, red underwings, and a white face.

"Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse!" Lysandre commanded. Honchkrow closed its eyes, clearly focusing, and a cloud of black aura formed in front of the bird. The aura then flew out from the cloud in the form of tendrils that moved like whips.

I knew that this was a strong and sinister attack, so I gave a command of my own to protect Garchomp. "Garchomp use Protect, then follow it up with Stone Edge!" My dragon did not disappoint me, as the aura flew around the force field, then Garchomp stomped the ground, sending energy directly underneath Honchkrow. The rock underneath it shot up as spears with the force of a rifle shot. Honchkrow's wings were pierced, and it stopped fighting. Lysandre had the bird return to its Pokéball. His next Pokémon was sent out as the stone spears retracted into the ground.

"Go, Mienshao!" Lysandre called, sending out his fighting-type Pokémon. It looked like a mostly-grey ferret with purple fur on its legs, waistline, arms, tail, the crest of its head and its eyelids. The arms were longer than its legs, but what looked like hands turned out to actually be long sleeves, while the hands were concealed underneath them. On its snout was a moustache with yellow tips.

I was not overly concerned; my Garchomp had the means to defeat this Pokémon as well, so I wasted no time. "Garchomp, Aerial Ace!" Garchomp suddenly took flight, blading his body and moving at supersonic speeds. Just as he got to Mienshao, he swung both sets of claws in a crossing path. Mienshao had no chance of getting clear in time and she was launched back several feet. She wasn't beaten, but she was close to passing out. Garchomp casually flew closer to me.

Lysandre failed to notice the condition of his Pokémon, so he gave a careless command. "Mienshao, Hi Jump Kick!" Mienshao leapt nearly twenty feet into the air almost effortlessly, and she angled her kick directly at Garchomp. I didn't even need to give the command for Garchomp to dodge, he just side-stepped, causing Mienshao to miss her target by little more than a foot, and she crashed into the ground hard. That ended the fight for Mienshao, who could no longer walk on its own, let alone fight a dragon, so Lysandre recalled her.

He then threw out his last Pokémon, which just happened to be his strongest. "Go Gyrados!" he called. The Pokémon was indeed the most intimidating Pokémon he had sent out thus far. It was a twenty-foot-long, blue-scaled sea serpent with a yellow underbelly, blue moustache-like antenna, a blue tailfin, three grey dorsal fins with three points each, and an eyebrow-like crest with three points. Looks, however, did not make a Pokémon stronger, and I knew that I was more than able to win this.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" I commanded. Garchomp's entire body became cloaked in dragon fire, and he started sprinting before leaping into the air directly toward Gyrados's head at near supersonic speed. Lysandre was faster this time, not willing to lose so quickly.

"Gyrados, Use Dragon Rage!" Gyrados reared back then shot a ball of dragon fire from its mouth. Garchomp dodged the incoming attack expertly, and wound up throwing Gyrados directly into Lysandre.

Gyrados had lost, so Lysandre had it return to its Pokéball. I had taken the first step toward saving Sarah, but this was no time to celebrate. I still had seven battles left.

Ch. 38

My next challenge was against the notorious Giovanni of Team Rocket. Of these criminal bosses, he was the only one who had also been a gym leader before he went into hiding upon losing to Red. He specialized in Ground Type Pokémon, so I made the choice that would give me the advantage before he chose his first Pokémon. "Go Swampert!" I called as I sent out my starter.

Giovanni smirked, throwing out his first Pokéball. "Go, Nidoking!" he called. The released Pokémon looked a lot like a purple rhino with ears like a rabbit, thick legs like an elephant, spinal ridges, and a thick tail. Its chest was white, and it looked like it was heavily armored.

"Nidoking, use Earth Power!" he commanded.

"Swampert, use Fissure!" I called directly after Giovanni.

Nidoking leapt into the air, stomping into the ground and sending a shockwave of stone pillars from the ground. At the same time, Swampert struck the ground with both fists, sending a splintering crack across the arena. The crack split Nidoking's Earth Power directly down the center, and the trench was opening directly towards Nidoking. The crack got to Nidoking, and the Pokémon almost fell in, until Giovanni rescued it by having it return to its Pokéball.

Swampert's eyes glowed and the crack sealed shut. Giovanni then threw his next Pokémon out of its Pokéball. What came out surprised me. It was a male Garchomp, not unlike my own, but I could tell it wasn't quite as strong as mine. I chose to finish this battle quickly, but not by attacking first.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" Giovanni commanded.

"Swampert, Counter!"

The enemy Garchomp flew at Swampert, its whole body covered with dragon fire, but at the last second, Swampert dodged and grabbed a hold of the Garchomp's tail. He began to spin the enemy as if he was an Olympic hammer-thrower, and Garchomp was his implement. Swampert released Garchomp just as the dragon was pointed at Giovanni. While Garchomp did not reach Giovanni, he did make a sizeable trench in the arena's floor. That, however, wasn't the end of the battle. Garchomp got back to its feet, so I made my next command, before Giovanni could try to beat me again.

"Swampert, Ice Beam!" I commanded. Swampert gathered icy energy in his mouth then shot the energy directly at Garchomp's chest. There was no chance for the dragon to dodge, and it took the brunt of the attack, with ice forming on its entire form. Giovanni knew his Garchomp was beaten, so he recalled it before the ice made that impossible.

Giovanni was clearly angry now, he knew that his Pokémon could not beat my Swampert, but he had no options other than to continue with the battle. He threw his next Pokéball without as much as a word.

What came out of the Pokéball was the flying scorpion Pokémon, Gliscor. Its body was mostly purple, with red arms and midsection. It had two large pincers, a two-pointed tail, black wings, and glowing yellow eyes. I knew the Pokémon was of both the Ground and Flying types, and I didn't want this battle to drag on any longer than necessary.

"Swampert, Ice Beam!" Swampert reared back and shot the tendrils of ice-energy from his mouth, aiming it directly at Gliscor. The enemy was fast, however, and it didn't wait for the attack to land. Gliscor dodged without much effort, and Giovanni gave a command.

"Gliscor, use Aerial Ace," he said calmly. Gliscor began to fly at incredible speeds, its claws opened and ready to strike Swampert, but I wasn't going to let the hit land without repercussions.

"Swampert, Counter!" I called. Swampert waited for Gliscor to get within a few feet of striking, he then lashed its arms out, closing Gliscor's claws with a terrifyingly strong grip. Swampert whipped Gliscor around like a rag-doll before throwing the Pokémon into the ground, creating a slight crater. "Swampert, hit it with an Ice Beam at point-blank range." Swampert did as commanded, freezing Gliscor almost completely solid.

Giovanni was not pleased with the results of this battle so far, but he sent out his next Pokémon anyway. "Go, Hippowdon," he said with clear anger in his voice. This Pokémon, as its name suggests, looked like a hippopotamus. It had red eyes, brown underbelly and a black back. He had six large pores in his skin, the lowest of which had sand pouring out continuously.

Not to be disturbed, I quickly gave a command. "Swampert, Hydro Pump!" I commanded. Swampert reared his head back before launching a torrent of water as thick as a young oak tree. Hippowdon didn't have much of a chance to battle, and it was launched back to Giovanni's feet without so much as an attempted command from Giovanni.

Giovanni recalled Hippowdon nonetheless, and he threw out his next Pokémon. "Go, RHYPERIOR!" he shouted. The Pokémon was very similar to Nidoking, but it had multiple distinctions. Its chest, shoulders, and head were covered in red, armored plates. It had two horns on its head, the higher one was a normal horn, but the other one was much longer and it was shaped like a drill. Its limbs were thick, and its arms each had a sword-like extension at the elbows. Lastly, its tail was incredibly thick and it ended with a sphere on its tail. It was both ground and rock type, so, despite its daunting appearance, I was able to easily end this match up.

"Swampert, use Hyrdro Pump again!" I called out.

"Rhyperior, use Rock Blast!" Giovanni called.

As Swampert reared back for his attack, Rhyperior dug out a gigantic boulder from the ground. Rhyperior then threw the boulder just as Swampert shot the Hydro Pump at Rhyperior. The rock blocked the water, sending it in a mist without doing much damage.

"Swampert, dodge the rock and use Hydro Pump again," Swampert didn't need to be told twice, and he sprinted out of the way of the rock, just as it was about to hit him. Swampert returned to shooting the stream of water at Rhyperior, increasing the intensity as he went. Rhyperior was trying to get another rock to throw, but he didn't get it in time. The rush of water threw Rhyperior back, knocking it out cold. With that, Giovanni was defeated.

Ch. 39

Archie and Maxie both came up to battle me in the next round, having put aside their differences for the time being. This battle would be a double battle, so I had Swampert return to his Pokéball for a rest before I sent out Raikou and Metagross. I knew these two could work together marvelously to win this battle.

"Go, Mightyena!" Maxie called out, letting out his dark wolf-like Pokémon.

"Go, Crobat!" Archie called out. The Pokémon that came out of Archie's Pokéball was a large, bright purple bat with four wings with a greenish leather-like skin. It was known to be one of the fastest species of Pokémon in the world. I would need to be smart, but still I wasn't daunted by this task.

"Raikou, Thunderbolt on Crobat! Metagross, Meteor Mash on Mightyena!" Raikou's mane glowed blue with electric energy before a large bolt of lightning split the air heading straight for Crobat. The attack landed without trouble, with that Crobat fell to the ground. At the same time, Metagross began to levitate, flying into the air before plummeting directly at Mightyena. Metagross's attack landed with spectacular strength, throwing Mightyena directly onto Crobat. Both Pokémon were out already.

The next two Pokémon were the same, but their owners were the reverse. The result was nearly identical as well. That was when Archie and Maxie both got a glint in their eyes. I knew that they were just about to send out their signature Pokémon.

"Go Camerupt!" said Maxie.

"Sharpedo, I choose you!" Archie called out.

Camerupt, a fire and ground type Pokémon, looked much like a camel mixed with a yak with red fur, with three blue rings along its flanks. The most notable feature of this Pokémon, however, was the two volcanos on its back. Sharpedo, a water and dark type, looked like a shark without the tail. The fins each had two notches near the tip. Its eyes glowed red and it had a yellow "X" pattern on its snout, even more impressive was that it almost swam through the air. These two would be significantly harder to defeat than the previous four, but not impossibly so.

"Raikou, Thunder on Sharpedo! Metagross, Psychic on Camerupt," I commanded. Both Metagross and Raikou glowed blue with power, but Raikou was the first to release his attack. Camerupt, however, would not allow Sharpedo to take the electric attack which would have surely ended the match. Instead, just before Psychic gripped Camerupt, the opponent sprinted in front of the lightning. The Thunder landed, but had no effect on Camerupt due to its immunity to electricity.

Unfortunately for Camerupt, it wasn't immune to Psychic, and it was gripped immediately following its near heroic defense. Sharpedo then sprang into action.

"Sharpedo, use Crunch on Metagross." Archie commanded. Sharpedo flew at Metagross, its jaws wide open. I wasn't going to let that land and disrupt Psychic.

"Raikou, hit Sharpedo with a Volt Tackle!" I commanded, knowing that this was a move that did recoil damage. That alone could be dangerous, but it combined with Sharpedo's Rough Skin ability, which would damage Raikou even more. I also knew, however, that Sarah's life rested on my continued victory, and that outweighed any dangers. Raikous seemed to appreciate this as well, as he ran at Sharpedo so fast that it appeared more like a Teleport, Sharpedo was inches from Metagross when Raikou's attack landed.

Sharpedo went flying off of the battle platform, and Metagross, deciding that Camerupt should join it there, hurled the opponent in the exact same direction, where both crashed into each other and were knocked out cold.

I continued to battle after those two, defeating N, Ghetsis, Cyrus, and finally Colress. Most of the battles went without any trouble, and my Pokémon remained relatively unscathed, but my last, and likely most difficult battle was about to begin. Emmanuel was up, and he wanted blood.

Before he came up to start our battle, Emmanuel decided to give a little speech.

"Well Jordan, I would normally be quite impressed by what you have done so far. I have never seen any trainer battle with as much finesse and power as you do. I never imagined that anybody would really be able to stand against every one of us without losing a single Pokémon. Then again, you are not just anybody, are you? You are not only favored by Arceus himself, you were directly aided by him just a few months ago in our last battle. It's just a shame that your girlfriend won't live to see your utter defeat." He walked to Sarah's front as he said that

I wasn't sure what Emmanuel meant but, but I was terrified by the possibilities. That was when he lifted the gun and fired.

"SARAH!" I called, but too late to do anything

Ch. 40

I dropped to my knees. I had just witness the death of the love of my life. All of my struggles to rescue her had been for nothing, and now she was gone. I almost lost my will to battle Emmanuel, but that feeling was almost immediately replaced by an insatiable desire to not only defeat Emmanuel, but to so utterly destroy everything he held dear that he would realize far too late how big of a mistake he had made by giving that order. That desire turned to a raging inferno of pure hatred when I considered that he had not only just killed Sarah, he had almost killed Swampert back in Pitt City.

"Emmanuel," I said shakily as tears began to flow from my eyes, but with my anger and fury still crystal clear in my voice. "Before our match, I should tell you that you are the direct cause of everything that you will receive. The rest of these leaders will also feel the same wrath, but you, above all others, shall get the worst of it."

Emmanuel must have believed that I was joking, so he just chuckled and got his first Pokéball out. "You don't have the heart to do it anymore kid; we just shot it out of you."

At that moment, every one of the League's trainers and Connor burst through the door to the roof. I would have an audience for my vengeance. Connor must have seen the rage in my eyes and he was about to call out to me, probably to tell me to calm down. He stopped, however, when he saw Sarah. I gave my brother and closest friend an apologetic look, trying to convey that I was sorry that he would have to see me this way, but I would not stop this time for any reason. Connor got a solemn look, accepting what was about to happen.

"Pick your first Pokémon, Emmanuel!"

He smirked, "Go, Armaldo!"

"I CHOOSE YOU, GARCHOMP!" I called. Garchomp flew out of his Pokéball, and he clearly already knew what had just happened, his rage clearly showing.

"GARCHOMP, USE EARTH POWER, THEN DRACO METEOR!"

Armaldo had barely come out of its Pokéball when a single pillar of earth shot up from underneath it, throwing it high into the air. Garchomp flew up at supersonic speeds, getting above Armaldo and forming a large, solid ball of dragon fire. Garchomp then threw the meteor at Armaldo, flying right behind the attack. Armaldo crashed into the ground hard, with the crushing force of the meteor landing directly on it. The dragon fire rushed out from the ground-zero of the attack. As soon as it dissipated, Garchomp flew down. "USE DRAGON RUSH!" I commanded. Garchomp's whole body was coated in dragon fire in an instant. Armaldo was just about to get back up when Garchomp swooped down, slamming into Armaldo head-on. Garchomp easily flew away from the impact unscathed while Armaldo flew nearly off of the mountain.

Emmanuel quickly had Armaldo return, only now realizing exactly how much shit he had gotten himself into, and it was far too late for him to do anything, so he was forced to send out his Cradily. I had Garchomp return to his Pokéball, wanting another messenger of my absolute hate for Emmanuel.

"GO METAGROSS!" I called.

Metagross didn't even wait for my command, as he flew into the air before coming down hard with a Meteor Mash on top of Cradily. He didn't stop there, however. Metagross proceeded to grab Cradily's stalk-like neck with one of his claws then threw Cradily directly at Emmanuel at such great speeds that Emmanuel couldn't get out of the way in time and both of them flew off of the field. Emmanuel had Cradily return to its Pokéball, knowing that it would only get killed if he left it out. I then recalled Metagross and prepared my next Pokémon. Emmanuel got back on the battlefield and sent out his Tyrantrum while I sent out Tyranitar.

"Tyrantrum use Dragon Pulse!"

"TYRANITAR, USE EARTHQUAKE!" I commanded. Tyranitar was much faster than Tyrantrum, launching the shockwave across the battlefield, not only unsteadying Tyrantrum, but also giving him an opening. "NOW USE BRICK BREAK!" Tyranitar sprinted up to Tyrantrum, his fists glowing with incredible power, then gave two fast jabs to Tyrantrum's gut to keel it over before delivering a powerful uppercut to its jaw. Tyrantrum flipped backwards, barely landing on its feet before falling onto its side. "TYRANITAR, USE LOW KICK!" Tyranitar sprinted up to Tyrantrum before delivering a strong kick directly at his foe's skull. Tyrantrum flew back once again, landing just short of Emmanuel. Emmanuel was absolutely speechless when he had Tyrantrum return to the Pokéball.

"Tyranitar, return!" I called as my Pokémon returned to my awaiting Pokéball. Emmanuel then sent out his Carracosta.

"GO RAIKOU!" I shouted, my anger still as pure and unwavering as before. "NOW RAIKOU, USE THUNDER AND FOLLOW IT UP WITH A CRUNCH!" Immediately a gigantic bolt of electricity flew from Raikou, striking the ancient sea turtle with an enormous amount of energy. Just as Carracosta was trying to recover from the injuries it sustained, Raikou came flying in, biting down on Carracosta's neck. It didn't pierce skin, but Raikou still went along with the trend, throwing Carracosta directly at Emmanuel. The turtle was returned to its Pokéball before it collided with its trainer. Emmanuel proceeded to send out his Bastiodon.

"Raikou, return!" I called out. Once Raikou was safely in his Pokéball, I threw out my next Pokéball. "GO HO-OH!" I called. The legendary bird Pokémon came from her Pokéball with a mighty cry.

"HO-OH, USE YOUR SACRED FIRE!" I commanded. Ho-oh reared back and unleashed a gigantic barrage of multi-colored fire, scorching Bastiodon, turning it red-hot. "NOW USE GUST TO COOL HIM OFF!" Ho-oh began flapping her wings, the resulting gusts buffeting Bastiodon, and returning him to his original color. "SKY DROP HIM HO-OH!" Ho-oh then took off and picked up Bastiodon in her feet. Emmanuel tried to give a command, but it was drowned out when Ho-oh shrieked. She took the enemy Pokémon at least sixty feet into the air. That was when she let Bastiodon fall. There was no chance for Bastiodon to walk away from his resulting landing, which shook the entire mountaintop.

Emmanuel recalled his Bastiodon, knowing that he had only his Aerodactyl left. I had Ho-oh return to her Pokéball and sent out my oldest companion. "GO SWAMPERT!" I called. When Swampert came out of the Pokéball, I could tell that, of all my Pokémon, he was affected the most by Sarah's death. Now, he was going to let it all out.

"Aerodactyl, I choose you!" Emmanuel called, sounding terrified now.

"SWAMPERT HIT IT WITH AN ICE BEAM, THEN A HYDRO PUMP!"

Aerodactyl came out of his Pokéball flying and ready to fight, but he was not ready for what Swampert had in store. In a mere second after he came out of his Pokéball, Aerodactyl was struck directly with an Ice Beam, throwing him back, but not freezing him. That was when Swampert decided to learn a new, far more powerful attack. He reared back and fired out such an enormous torrent of water that it completely engulfed Aerodactyl. I knew when I saw that power that I was witnessing Swampert's first use of the Hydro Cannon attack.

Aerodactyl fell to the ground, rolling as he went, and landed on the edge of the mountain. Emmanuel recalled Aerodactyl, knowing that he had lost the match. I, however, had never really cared about the match. I had Swampert return to his Pokéball, as this next battle would be my own.

Ch. 41

My rage continued unabated as I walked menacingly over to Emmanuel, who had a deeply confused look. When I got to Emmanuel, the first thing I did was what I had wanted to do since I met him: I punched him squarely in the jaw. While he was still staggering, I spun quickly, delivering a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of his knee, dislocating it. He fell to his other knee. I grabbed his hair, lifting his eyes to mine.

"Arceus gave you a second chance when he freed you and the rest of Team Phoenix. You could have left me alone for fuck's sake. Instead, you decided murdered an eighteen year old!" I proceeded to punch him in the face, and once again grabbed a handful of his hair, turning him back towards me. "If you ever feared Giratina and Arceus, then you clearly haven't seen me like I am now. I don't care if I become a murderer for this."

I proceeded to drag Emmanuel over to the edge of the mountain. I then grabbed both of his lapels before throwing him almost over the cliff. I dropped a strong knee on his chest and got as close to his face as I could.

"I should throw you off and rid the world of such scum." I said through my rage driven tears. "But then I'd be no better than you. Sarah would hate me for that, and I won't disgrace her death with my selfishness." With that I got up, and left Emmanuel writhing on the ground in pain. All of the other crime bosses had fled to protect themselves, leaving Sarah's body behind. I immediately went over to her and cut her free.

I laid what was left of the one I had hoped to spend my entire life with across my lap. I noticed that the girls in the League were openly crying for Sarah and many of the guys were trying to hold it back. I could see my brother sitting in the stairwell, not looking at any of the others, his shoulders clearly shaking. I looked back to Sarah, knowing that I could do nothing to bring her back anymore. I held her marred forehead to mine, not caring about who saw anymore, and I began crying terribly.

Ch. 42

I don't know how long I stayed on top of that mountain holding Sarah's body. I noticed that the League trainers were still there and they were talking, presumably about what to do about Emmanuel or me. I ignored them, I went back to thinking about how I would be able go on with my life, even with my Pokémon to support me. I wasn't sure if Arceus would be able, or even willing to do anything, but I figured that it was worth a try. I began to pray silently to the Pokémon god, hoping he would hear me and restore Sarah to life.

After only a few minutes of pleading, a strong gust of wind blew through the area. The wind gathered like a tornado on a single point on the battle platform and began to glow with pure, white light. The wind died down and Arceus took his form. The League trainers all stared in amazement, not sure what to do now that the most powerful Pokémon ever was in front of them.

_Jordan, I am truly sorry that this all happened. I overlooked Emmanuel's desire for revenge when I let him out of the Distortion World. It was because of my mistake that you lost Sarah today, so I shall restore her to life_. Arceus relayed to me telepathically.

Suddenly, without me calling for her, Ho-oh came out of her Pokéball. She looked at Arceus, and suddenly I heard a new, feminine, yet clearly powerful, mental voice.

_In addition to Arceus's gift, I shall grant you one more gift. Those who have ever captured me are granted eternal happiness, but I shall extend that gift not only to both you and Sarah, but to your Pokémon as well. This gift shall protect her from any injury or danger. However, for it to work, I must be released and free. My Pokéball shall be filled with another fire Pokémon. It shall be one that you almost owned before you left for your journey._

I was speechless. Nothing in my life was more important than Sarah and my Pokémon. While I had grown attached to Ho-oh, I knew that she offered more to benefit Sarah and me than I could get by keeping her. So I recalled Ho-oh for the last time before changing her Pokéball to its release setting. When I threw her Pokéball, a blue light came out as opposed to the typically white light. When Ho-oh formed, she was no longer my Pokémon. _You have been an amazing trainer Jordan, I will never forget you._

With that, both Arceus and Ho-oh began glowing so brightly that I had to cover my eyes. When the glowing ceased, Sarah's had been healed perfectly, and. I looked up to thank Arceus and Ho-oh, but they, along with Emmanuel, had disappeared just as quickly as their light had.

A soft hand then came up to my left cheek, Sarah turned me towards her and passionately, yet gently kissed me for a full minute. She broke the contact and smiled at me. "I knew you'd come for me. How did you bring me back?"

I held up Ho-oh's old Pokéball. "Arceus did, but I had to give up an old friend of mine."

Sarah was astonished. "You gave up your most powerful Pokémon to save my life?"

"You are more important to me than owning a strong Pokémon is. The choice was easy."

That was when I heard applause from the "audience" that was still there. I helped Sarah to stand up before walking over to the League of Legendary Trainers, where I introduced her to all of the trainers. Red then sent out his Alakazam. "Alakazam, Teleport us all to Bath Town," he commanded.

In an instant, we were all standing outside of Sarah's home and store. I helped Sarah walk up to her room and into her bed. When she got there, she almost instantly fell asleep, her exhaustion too strong to resist. When I was sure she was okay, I rejoined the others. Upon going out to the back of the store, Red came over to me.

"Jordan, that was one impressive battle back there. I can't tell you how long it has been since I've seen a trainer with your skill level outside of League. I would like to offer you a chance to join us."

I was shocked. I had never even dreamed of joining such an amazing group, but now that the opportunity was available, I wasn't going to pass it up. "I would love to join. What do I need to do to join."

"That's the hard part," Red said. "You will need to beat the rest of the leagues around the world, then climb Mount Creshlington without your Pokémon to be named our next member."

"Well, that could take years, but I'm up to it. First, I will be training my newest Pokémon." I said.

"I understand, but the results are worth it. I'll see you eventually." He then turned to address the rest of the League of Legendary Trainers. "Let's go home everybody. It has been a long day. We are done here." They all got out their Psychic Pokémon and teleported away.

I threw what used to be Ho-oh's Pokéball, and it sent out my new Pokémon. It was a Cyndaquil. The Pokémon was a small, mouse-like Pokémon with a white underbelly and black back. On its back were four orange skin-like glands, which would be used to create fire quills. Immediately, it ran up to me, like we had been lifelong friends. I embraced my newest Pokémon. "Welcome to the team Cyndaquil. You should meet the rest of your new friends," I said as I threw the rest of my Pokéballs out. When my Pokémon were all out, Cyndaquil ran over and began to talk with them, and while I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying, I could tell that they were getting along famously. Cyndaquil would need that friendship for the coming training, but I was confident that he would prove to be up to the task.

Ch. 43

It took nearly three months for me to train my Cyndaquil to the same level as the rest of my team was at. I had remained in Bath Town, training Cyndaquil on weaker wild Pokémon to start, then steadily progressed to challenging tougher opponents. In that time, he evolved twice, first into a Quilava, which was almost like a ferret with the same color patterns of a Cyndaquil, but a flame gland on the top of its head and on the over its hind legs, then, a month later, he evolved into a Typhlosion, a bipedal wolverine with a single, large fire mane on the back of its neck. In the months of training, Typhlosion quickly grew into one of my most dependable Pokémon, and he even was able to hold his own, if not defeat, all of my other Pokémon except for Swampert, which was to be expected due to his type disadvantage. With all of Typhlosion's progress it wouldn't be long before I would be able to face the Elite Four without trouble. When three full months had passed between me receiving Cyndaquil, Connor paid me an unexpected visit, flying in on his Charizard.

"Hey, how is Typhlosion doing little brother?" he asked me.

"He's frighteningly good now. I know I wouldn't want to battle him," I replied.

"Well, I didn't just stop by to ask how Typhlosion was."

"You want to know what's taking me so long to come to the Pokémon League Elite Four, don't you."

"Well, yes, seeing as how you are the only noteworthy trainer around who stands a chance against them."

"I know that, but why are you so eager for me to battle the Elite Four? Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Oh you'll find out soon enough."

"I guess I will, especially since I am going there tomorrow."

Connor looked slightly surprised. "Well then, you may want to rest up and be ready for the trip. It won't be easy to get there, and the battles will be tough."

The next day, I was on the road, my six Pokéballs on my belt, and my determination clearly etched upon my face. This was going to be my last trip for the American League, and it was going to be through the toughest caverns known to man: Victory Road.

Ch. 44

I made it to the end of Victory Road two days later. The cave had been brutal, and my Pokémon were exhausted, but it had been worth the trip. Now I stood no more than a quarter of a mile from the American League Headquarters, Columbia Town, and there was a Pokémon Center at the base of a large mountain, and the building was a large tower containing the Elite Four. I continued to walk toward the tower in front of me, and within five minutes I was there.

I stopped by the Pokémon Center for a fast re-energizing of my Pokémon before I started my challenge.

"You must be Jordan," the nurse said.

I was a little confused. "How did you know my name?" I asked

"Oh, everybody knows that you were going to be arriving here eventually. I was here when Connor went through."

"Connor challenged the Elite Four?"

"He never told you? Yeah, he did and got pretty far. I'm surprised you don't know that."

"He must have kept it a secret, I guess."

With that my Pokémon were healed and I was ready to start my final challenge of the American League.

"I wish you the best of luck, Jordan. Don't give up until you have won," the nurse said.

"Thank you," I said as I passed through the first gate. Just as I went through, a metal gate slammed shut behind me. "Well, I guess there's no turning back now, is there?" That was when a set of lights turned on, lighting up a staircase leading to the next door. I walked up to it and it slid open, revealing a room that looked like a physics laboratory, but it had a battlefield in the center.

"Hello!" I called, hearing only my own voice echo in response. I thought for a moment that there was nobody here. So I looked around at the equipment, much of which had to do with electricity and circuits. I was still looking at the décor when a deep, heavily Serbian-accented voice sounded behind me.

"Well, hello. It is a pleasure to meet the younger Moul brother. I had no idea that you were interested in physics!"

I turned to face the speaker. He was nearly as tall as my Garchomp, with a full moustache and a full head of dark brown hair. His eyes were bright, and I could tell that he was quite intelligent. He wore a white lab coat with a white button-down underneath.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to startle you, I am Nikola, the first of the Elite Four, and I specialize in electric Pokémon," he said, extending a hand in greeting.

"I am Jordan, as you seem to already know. It's a pleasure to meet you, but I was only looking at the instruments. It is quite an impressive collection you have."

Nikola chuckled. "It's a work in progress, but you and I both know that this isn't why you are here. We are to hold your first Elite Four battle ever, are we not?"

"Now you are speaking my language! Let's get started!"

With that we walked to our respective sides of the battlefield, and prepared to battle.

"This will be a battle of attrition. Whoever runs out of able-bodied Pokémon loses. There is no time limit. Don't worry about the instruments; they are completely indestructible and gyroscopically stable. Now, let the match begin!" Nikola said.

"You said that you use electric Pokémon, so I'll make a smart choice. GO SWAMPERT!"

Nikola smirked. "You still won't win this battle. GO EELEKTROSS!" Nikola's Pokémon looked like a lamprey with two clawed, arm-like limbs. Its body was a deep blue color with yellow markings along its eyes and a tan underbelly and it had a slight dorsal fin with a blue bone-like structure over tan skin. To top it off, the Pokémon was floating a foot off the ground, using its ability to levitate. It could not be hit by ground attacks, but that wouldn't stop me from achieving victory.

"Swampert, let's get it started with a Hydro Pump!" Immediately Swampert reared back before shooting a torrent of water at Eelektross.

"Eelektross, use Thrash!" Nikola commanded. The command came too late, and the attack landed hard, knocking Eelektross to the ground, albeit briefly. Once my opponent got back into the air, he came charging at Swampert, flailing every part of his body in an attempt to hit Swampert.

"Swampert, use Counter, don't let Eelektross hit you!" Swampert quickly grabbed hold of Eelektross's neck, stopping its attack before throwing it to the ground. "Quickly, before it gets up, use Earthquake!" A shockwave spread through the ground, hitting Eelektross with a ground-type attack for the first time ever. That was the end of that round.

Nikola recalled Eelektross. "Impressive. No others have thought to defeat Eelektross that way. You have a good chance of winning this if you could win that one. Go, Electrode!" he called out.

Electrode look like a large inverted Pokéball with a face instead of the activation index. This Pokémon was not levitating like Eelektross had done, but Electrodes in the wild were well-known for exploding at the slightest provocation, and they were blindingly fast as well.

"Swampert, Earthquake!" I commanded. Swampert launched a shockwave through the earth at my command, but this round was not to end so easily

"Electrode, use Rollout!" Nikola commanded. Electrode started to roll quickly toward Swampert, and it was gaining speed as it rolled. When the shockwave came by, Electrode just rode with it, launching itself into the air before coming down, aiming directly at Swampert.

"Swampert, dodge, then use Seismic Toss!" I commanded. At the last second Swampert just barely adjusted his position, letting Electrode plow into the floor, denting it, but Electrode was not finished just yet. Swampert grabbed Electrode and threw it across the field. It landed hard at Nikola's feet, unconscious. Nikola had it return to its Pokéball.

"Jordan, I must say that your Swampert is really well trained. I, however, will not be bested by anybody. Go, Raichu!" he called as he threw his next Pokéball out. The Pokémon that came out was an incredibly large orange mouse with yellow spots on its cheeks and brown stripes on its back.

"Swampert, you've battled incredibly well, but I will need you for the next matches," I said as I recalled Swampert. "Garchomp, I choose you!" Garchomp roared with delight as he came out of his Pokéball, clearly ready to battle.

Nikola's eyes went wide at that point. "I can tell that this Pokémon is also exceptionally well-trained. You'll find, however, that you should not have chosen Garchomp against my Raichu," he said.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that Nikola. Garchomp, start with an Earth Power!" Garchomp's foot began glowing as he stomped into the ground hard, shooting pillars of stone into the air directly under Raichu.

"Raichu, use Agility, then hit Garchomp with an Ice Punch!" Raichu suddenly began to almost teleport from place to place, dodging every pillar despite their proximity to each other.. When Raichu was within range of Garchomp, he leapt into the air, his fist drawn back and gathering icy power.

"Garchomp, use Flamethrower before Raichu hits you!" With that, Garchomp let loose a stream of flames, engulfing Raichu in a second. When the jet of flame died, Raichu was still coming at Garchomp, but not with the same strength as before. The punch that landed was barely a tap, and it did no significant damage.

"Garchomp put that Raichu out of its misery with a Low Kick." Garchomp kicked Raichu, sending the mouse Pokémon flying toward Nikola, who recalled the Pokémon before it was seriously injured.

"Sorry Nikola, I hope Raichu is alright," I said.

"Not to worry, he has been through worse than that and made it through, but we must finish our battle now. Go, Stunfisk!" The Pokémon that came out of the Pokéball looked like a flounder with brown scales and a yellow tail. It was a known electric type, but it was also a ground type, something that made it more versatile. I was not deterred though, so I continued my onslaught.

"Garchomp, Earthquake!" I commanded. The shockwave flew out from Garchomp.

"Stunfisk, use Protect!" Nikola called. Stunfisk became shrouded by a green shield of sorts, negating all damage from the attack.

"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!" I called, knowing that Stunfisk couldn't protect itself from this attack in time! Garchomp's claws became coated in dragon fire as he charged at Stunfisk.

"Stunfisk, use an Earthquake of your own!" Nikola commanded. The shockwave flew out, but Garchomp was ready for it. He began to fly at his near supersonic speed, getting to Stunfisk just as the shockwave would have landed, and he slashed with both claws, hitting Stunfisk hard enough to throw it into the arena's wall. Nikola recalled Stunfisk, and his face showed that he was not going to continue to battle me.

"Jordan, you are indeed as strong as, if not stronger than your brother. I cannot defeat your Pokémon with my electric Pokémon. I surrender this match to you. Now, go on to your next battle. Just realize that you might have more trouble there than you had in this battle."

When he said that, the door at the back of the room opened, I was cleared to proceed. "Thank you Nikola, I wish you the best," I said.

I battled my way through the next three Elite Four members, all of who were incredible, but I proved to be too strong for them all. I had beaten Wade, the master of water Pokémon, Maylay, the fighting mistress, and I had just defeated Dusty, the ground master's final Pokémon: a Garchomp. As Dusty recalled his Pokémon, I could tell that he was amused about something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ah," he said with a deep, booming voice. "You have just defeated the Elite Four, yet you know not who the Champion is, do you?"

I got a confused look on my face. "No, I admit that I don't," I said.

"Let me just say that you actually have known him longer than I have, but you just didn't know he was the Champion." He said with a chuckle. I went wide-eyed, suddenly realizing why Connor had wanted me to challenge the Elite Four as soon as possible, and why all of the Gym Leaders remembered him, let alone followed his requests.

My brother was the American League Pokémon Champion, and I was about to battle him for that title. All of my Pokémon were still perfectly fine, but this would be my hardest battle yet, and I knew all too well that it would come down to the last Pokémon for each of us.

Ch. 45

I was outside the door to the Champion's arena, and I knew my brother was on the other side. I was nervous, and was tempted to turn back, but my determination and desire to win overrode my fears. I took a steadying breath and walked through the doorway. What I saw was staggering. I was now under the open sky on top of the mountain, but I was on the battlefield of a gigantic stadium, and the stands were full. I heard the roar from the crowd and an announcer. "Folks, it looks like Jordan Moul has entered the arena, and he is looking ready for a battle. This is going to be a six-on-six with no time limit. I am sure this will be the battle of the century, in a titanic brother versus brother rivalry. Who will come out victorious? Will it be Connor, the older, more experienced brother, and the reigning Champion? Or will it be Jordan, the newly famous Moul brother? Whatever the outcome, you can be sure of one thing: this will be one to remember! Now, here comes Connor, and he is looking confident about this battle."

Connor was paying no attention to the announcer at this point, and even though it was summer, he wore a light, long sleeve jacket. I could only imagine as to why. "Well, Jordan," he said, "it seems that you got through the Elite Four much faster than expected. I know that you have wanted to defeat me since you learned how to battle Pokémon, and this is the best place to accomplish that goal. I want you to hit me with everything you have gained in your journey, hold nothing back in this battle."

I looked at the front row and I saw Sarah sitting there, smiling at me. "Sarah, this battle is for you," I said. That was the last thing I said before turning to Connor with a grin as I grabbed Metagross's Pokéball. "Now, let's settle this, as brothers, the battle that was always meant to be," I said.

Connor smiled back and grabbed his own Pokéball. "As you wish, Lucario, I choose you!" he called as he threw his Pokéball.

"Go, Metagross!" I said as I threw my Pokéball into the battle field.

Both Pokémon came out ready to battle. Connor's Lucario looked stronger than any I had seen before, and I had battled multiple. It was obvious that this would be a close match.

The referee on the sidelines spoke then. "This match is between Metagross and Lucario. Begin the match!"

"Metagross use Body Slam!" I commanded. Metagross leapt into the air and started to come down toward Lucario hard. That, however, would not be the end of the match.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Connor called. Lucario held his hands back, energy gathering as blue light, as he prepared to throw his signature attack. When it was ready, Lucario hurled the light blue orb of light directly at Metagross's underside.

"Metagross, dodge and use Psychic!" I commanded. Despite Metagross's sheer weight and size, he was able to dodge the incoming attack before his eyes began to glow blue. Lucario could do nothing to stop the telepathic assault as it became coated in blue energy and was rag-dolled in the air, and it looked to be in pain. "Now, throw Lucario to the wall!" I commanded. Metagross landed on the ground hard, but it didn't skip a step as Lucario flew across the battlefield before slamming into the wall hard. Lucario was injured, but it was far from finished.

"Folks, I have never seen anything like this!" the announcer said, "I knew Metagross were strong, but I have never seen one move so quickly and launch such a powerful attack without hesitation!"

"Finish it with Meteor Mash!" I commanded. Metagross began spinning fast and flying up into the air before plummeting back toward Lucario.

"Lucario, use Agility!" Connor commanded. Lucario looked fiercely at Metagross before teleporting all around the battlefield, and Metagross slammed into the wall, but the wall took more damage than Metagross did. "Did you expect this battle to end so quickly, Jordan?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? This is just what I was expecting to happen when we battled," I responded. "Now, Metagross, Hyper Beam, let's go!" Metagross's metal cross began to glow gold with energy before a solid beam of golden light shot toward Lucario and there was no chance for Lucario to evade this. It was a direct hit, sending Lucario flying before it crashed down, clearly unable to battle any further.

"Lucario is unable to battle, Metagross wins the match!" the referee said. The crowd went crazy.

I couldn't help but feel pride for defeating any of Connor's Pokémon, but I kept my pride in check, knowing that this was far from over.

"Incredible, a folk, just as Lucario was coming out of his Agility attack, Metagross finishes it with a powerful Hyper Beam!"

"Lucario, return," Connor said, holding Lucario's Pokéball out. When Lucario was off the field, Connor took out his next Pokéball with a confident grin. "Go, Alakazam!"

"The match between Metagross and Alakazam will now begin!" the referee said.

"Alakazam, use Shadow Ball!" Connor called immediately. Alakazam's twin spoons came together, forming a ball of dark energy. It then threw it at Metagross so quickly that Metagross had no time to dodge, and I couldn't even give the command. It drove Metagross into the ground hard, stopping it from moving.

"Metagross is unable to battle, Alakazam wins!" the referee called out. The crowd was in shock. Surely they had not just seen such a fast victory. Unfortunately for me, though, they had.

"Woah, folks, that was a fast knock-out. A single Shadow Ball from Alakazam puts an end to the match. Connor really wants to retain his title. Will Jordan step up to this challenge?" the announcer said.

"Metagross, return!" I called out. "Good job Metagross, you earned a good rest today. Now, I choose Tyranitar!" Tyranitar came out of his Pokéball with a loud roar, and a glare toward Alakazam.

The referee got into position. "Begin the match between Tyranitar and Alakazam!"

"Tyranitar, use Earth Power!" I called out, hoping to start the match off as with an unexpected attack to throw Connor off balance. Tyranitar stomped its foot, sending gigantic pillars of earth into the air with a great deal of force. Alakazam was launched high into the air before it could react. It was a psychic-type, however, so it was able to levitate lightly the rest of the way to the ground.

"Alakazam, use Shadow Ball!" Connor called. Alakazam threw a ball of dark energy at Tyranitar with a great deal of force, but Tyranitar was a dark-type Pokémon, that tactic would not work, but mine would earn me a victory.

"Tyranitar, use your tail to leap into the air toward Alakazam and use Crunch!" I commanded.

Tyranitar did as I asked, flying like a bullet toward Alakazam, mouth open wide with its fangs bared. Alakazam had no chance to dodge as Tyranitar's jaws clamped around its midsection. "Now, Tyranitar grab Alakazam and use Seismic Toss!"

Tyranitar pulled Alakazam into a bear-hug before aiming his body toward the ground and beginning to spin his body rapidly. In a second, Tyranitar and Alakazam slammed into the ground, creating a giant dust cloud. I had to cover my face as the cloud flew toward me, and I stayed that way until the dust had cleared. Tyranitar was standing over Alakazam, breathing hard as it waited for the referee to make the decision.

"Alakazam is unable to battle. Tyranitar is the victor!" the referee called. With that, Tyranitar let out a powerful roar, causing the crowd to start cheering again.

"What an amazing win. I never thought to see a Tyranitar in flight, yet I saw it clearly as daylight."

Connor recalled Alakazam, and then he sent out his next Pokémon. "Snorlax, I choose you!" The Pokémon that came out was gigantic, easily weighing nine-hundred pounds, standing just as tall as Tyranitar, if not taller. It had dark fur all over its body except for its face and stomach, which were tan in color. It was a normal-type Pokémon, but Snorlax were known for their resilience. This win would take a lot of effort.

"Begin the match between Tyranitar and Snorlax!" the referee called out.

"Tyranitar, use Stone Edge!" I commanded.

"Snorlax, use Earthquake!" Connor called out.

Just as the stone spears came from the ground, Snorlax stomped once and Tyranitar's attack not only stopped, it turned back on him. Luckily Tyranitar's hide was able to withstand nearly any impact, so the Stone Edge didn't do much damage, but the Earthquake did a lot more.

Tyranitar was clearly injured from the Earthquake, but it kept pressing on. "Tyranitar, I know you can hang in there. Show him a Brick Break now!" I called.

"Snorlax, Ice Punch!" Connor called out.

Both Snorlax and Tyranitar came charging at each other with their fists raised. They got to each other, and both swung at the same time. The attacks landed, and both Pokémon went flying back. Snorlax was barely on its feet, but that didn't matter. Tyranitar was down, and he was not standing up.

"Tyranitar is unable to continue! Snoralx is the winner!" the referee said.

"Folks, it looks like that Ice Punch was all Connor needed to end this match. Now, how will Jordan respond?"

I had to focus now. I could go for Garchomp or Swampert, but I had a feeling that Connor also had his dragon in waiting, and I knew Charizard was going to come out near the end of the match, so I couldn't risk those two. That left Raikou and Typhlosion.

I smiled. "Go, Typhlosion!" I called out, sending out my fire Pokémon.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is quite unexpected. Jordan has sent out his Typhlosion. I can only imagine what his strategy will be to take down this Snorlax," The announcer said.

"Begin the battle!" the referee said.

"Snorlax, use Earthquake!" Connor commanded immediately.

I smiled. I had taught Typhlosion a combination of attacks to counter his weakness to Earthquake. "Typhlosion, use Flame Wheel!" I commanded. Typhlosion's fire mane light up as he spun into a small ball before he started to spin so fast his fire mane turned into a nearly solid wheel of fire. The fire cut into the ground as Typhlosion moved quickly toward Snorlax. Now the Earthquake attack would have no effect on Typhlosion, as he was no longer in direct contact with the ground. Snorlax couldn't get away fast enough and he took the full force of Typhlosion's Flame Wheel. Snorlax fell to the ground from the impact, but he was not defeated yet.

"Snorlax, use Rest now!" Connor commanded. Snorlax went to sleep and began glowing green as it regained health.

"I knew you'd do that Connor!" I called. "Typhlosion, use Sunny Day!" A thin beam of light shot up from Typhlosion's mane, and instantly the sunlight got more intense. "Now, use Solarbeam!" I called out. Typhlosion opened his mouth as energy gathered into a single white sphere before shooting out into one of the biggest beams I have ever seen. Snorlax was engulfed by the beam. When the dust cleared, Typhlosion was clearly the winner.

"Snorlax is unable to battle! The victory goes to Typhlosion!" the referee called out.

Connor had Snorlax return to its Pokéball, and he looked like he was in thought. "Well, whatever Pokémon Connor ends up picking, he had better make it a good one, because Jordan has clearly trained that Typhlosion incredibly well."

"Well, Jordan, I hope you are ready to face your downfall," Connor said. "Go, Lapras!" Connor's Lapras was clearly much stronger than Cryo's had been. I was still planning on beating it. With the sunlight still intensified from the Sunny Day, I had my first attack chosen already.

"Typhlosion, Solarbeam again!" I commanded.

"Lapras, Hydro Pump!" Connor called at the same time.

Typhlosion shot the Solarbeam with so much speed that the blast was already half way across the field when Lapras attacked. The Hydro Pump almost made it past the Solarbeam, but it quickly turned to steam, creating a thick fog over the field for a minute. I didn't wait for it to clear.

"Typhlosion use Thunderpunch, and hurry!" I called.

I knew that Typhlosion would know where Lapras was as he charged in with his fist raised for the attack. Just as Typhlosion got into the fog I heard Connor call his next command. "Lapras, use Hydro Pump now!" I heard the rush of the water, and, as the mist cleared, I saw Typhlosion on its back, knocked out cold.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle, Lapras is the winner!" The referee called out.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am speechless. These two are just exchanging knock outs. Just as one gets ahead, the other responds, and both have what it takes to win. Now it is Jordan's move, who will he choose?" the announcer called out.

I had Typhlosion return to his Pokéball before I chose the Pokémon that would get me the fastest win. "Go Raikou!" I called out. Raikou came out of his Pokéball with a powerful roar.

"Let the battle begin!" the announcer called out.

"Raikou, Thunderbolt now!" I called out. Raikou's mane glowed with energy, then, with another roar, he launched a large bolt of electricity, striking Lapras in the chest. Lapras cried out for a little while, but ultimately she couldn't deal with the attack and passed out.

"Lapras is unable to continue, Raikou is the winner," the referee called out.

Connor recalled Lapras. That was when I saw him hesitate for the first time, and he looked nervous. I didn't know what else Connor had up his sleeve, but I was sure it wouldn't be easy to beat. He finally grabbed another Pokéball, but this one looked different. It was mostly black with green circles on the top and bottom with green lines along the sides. I knew it was a Dusk Ball, and it was used for catching Pokémon at night or in caves.

"GO, HYDREIGON!" Connor called out.

The Pokémon that came out was a gigantic blue dragon with three heads. It had a purple underbelly and with black hood-like fur over its side heads and almost over the larger one in the center. It had two black wings on its back and it looked menacing to say the least.

"Begin the match!" the referee called out.

"Hydreigon, Dragon Pulse!" Connor called. Hydreigon reared back with all three heads, as a ball of dragon fire formed in each of its mouths. When the energy was gathered, Hydreigon's heads launched three beams of dragon fire that coalesced into a single massive blast.

"Raikou, dodge and use Thunder!" I called out. Just before the Dragon Pulse landed, Raikou leapt straight up into the air. His mane quickly began to glow with energy just before he unleashed a thick pillar of lightning at Hydreigon. It was a direct hit, but after being shocked for about five seconds it shook off the hit like it did no damage at all.

"That was an amazing dodge, but it looks like Jordan forgot that Dragons are resistant to Electric types. Could this cost him the match?" the announcer said.

I smirked. I had known that Dragons were nearly immune to electricity; I had a different reason for using Thunder. I was trying to paralyze Hydreigon. I didn't care what the announcer thought was happening.

"Raikou, use Extreme Speed!" I commanded. Raikou began sprinting toward Hydreigon, a streak of light appearing behind it for a few minutes, and I knew that Hydreigon would be unable to dodge Raikou's attack. Raikou slammed into Hydreigon at a blindingly fast pace, and Hydreigon roared in what sounded like defiance. It was not finished with this battle yet.

"Hydreigon, Hyper Voice!" Connor called out. With that command, Hydreigon's heads all started to roar, but it went beyond their typical volume and actually created a distortion in the air that sent Raikou flying back. Raikou landed on its side, but quickly recovered.

"Raikou, use Crunch!" Raikou leapt toward Hydreigon with his teeth opened wide. Connor just laughed.

"Jordan, let Hydreigon show you what a true Crunch attack looks like. NOW, HYDREIGON CRUNCH!"

Hydreigon and Raikou both struck at the same time, but Hydreigon had two more mouths than Raikou, and its attack was far more powerful than Raikou's. Raikou was at the mercy of all three mouths, and Hydreigon decided to toss Raikou across the battlefield. Raikou landed hard and he had bite marks across his body, and he could barely get up. Eventually Raikou just collapsed.

"Raikou is unable to continue, Hydreigon is the winner," the referee said.

I had Raikou return to his Pokéball, and this time, I was questioning who would go out next. Swampert, or Garchomp? Either way, I could win. At the same time, I knew that Connor still had Charizard waiting to come out, and he would be tough to beat. I would need my best Pokémon to beat Charizard. So I chose the more risky option.

"Garchomp, let's finish this. I CHOOSE YOU!" I called out as I threw Garchomp's Pokéball out. Garchomp came out with a powerful roar of his own. He was clearly ready for a battle that nobody would forget.

"Let this match begin!" called the referee.

"Garchomp, quickly, use Dragon Claw!" I commanded.

"Hydreigon, Dragon Pulse!" Connor commanded.

Garchomp flew forward toward Hydreigon, his claws burning with dragon fire. Hydreigon was gathering the dragon fire for his Dragon Pulse attack. The two massive dragons collided just as both attacks landed, and there was a large explosion as a result. Both dragons landed back on their respective side of the arena, both were still relatively unscathed, despite the proximity of the blast.

"Garchomp, don't hesitate, use Draco Meteor!" I commanded. I knew this would likely be the deciding attack as Garchomp flew into the air and began to set up his attack.

"Hydreigon, use Hyper Beam, don't let that Draco Meteor form!" Connor called out. Hydreigon began to gather golden light energy in his mouths. All three heads launched a beam at the same time, doing the same as they had done with Dragon Pulse as they coalesced into one. Garchomp, however, was already done preparing his Draco Meteor, and he was whipping it around getting ready to throw the ball of dragon fire at Hydreigon.

"Garchomp, let it go now, then follow it up with Dragon Rush!" I commanded.

Garchomp threw Draco Meteor just in time as Hydreigon's Hyper Beam met it no more than a second after the ball was thrown. Garchomp began to coat himself in dragon fire, giving Draco Meteor time to land before he flew down at Hydreigon, moving at his typical supersonic speed. The meteor plummeted toward Hydreigon, who was oddly not even trying to move. I was suspicious about Connor's plan to say the least, but I kept my focus, knowing that I would need to be ready for anything. I was even more surprised when, even with the meteor seconds away from Hydreigon, Connor had not given a command.

"Hydreigon, use Protect!" Connor commanded at the last possible second. Hydreigon's response was immediate, with a green shield thrown up around it as the meteor landed. The smoke cleared, and Hydreigon became visible, but his shield was down, and Garchomp took no time to take that opening. Garchomp plowed into Hydreigon, creating a crater in the field from the burst of dragon fire. Garchomp leapt out of the crater, leaving Hydreigon behind.

This, however, was still not enough, as Hydreigon just got up again, but it was clearly not doing well, so I decided to end this match immediately. "Garchomp, use Aerial Ace and end this!" Garchomp leapt through the air at supersonic speed, his claws extended. He was almost to Hydreigon when Connor gave a completely unexpected command.

"Hydreigon, use Ice Beam, now!" Just as Garchomp got to Hydreigon, the three-headed monstrous dragon launched a barrage of icy energy directly at Garchomp. Within a second, Garchomp was almost a solid block of ice, but his momentum kept him going as the ice block slammed into Hydreigon and shattered. They both landed hard, creating a dust cloud.

When the dust cleared, and both dragons were visible, it was clear that neither could continue in the battle. "Hydreigon and Garchomp are both unable to continue. This match is a draw."

"I am quite shocked ladies and gentlemen. In all my years as an announcer, I have never seen a frozen Pokémon wind up taking out an opponent. Now both brothers are down to their last Pokémon, and I think we all know what those Pokémon will be."

Connor and I both recalled our dragons. We had no more choices in this battle, we were down to our starters. It was a fitting way to end this battle, to end with our beginnings. We didn't hesitate to send out our Pokémon.

"Go Swampert!" I called out.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Connor called out. The first thing that I noticed about Charizard this time was that he was wearing a necklace with a marble-like stone at the end. I had never seen an item like this, but I wasn't too concerned with it.

"Let the battle begin!" the referee called out.

"Charizard, start this match with a Flamethrower!" Connor called out. Charizard launched a blazing jet of fire toward Swampert.

"Swampert, use Hydro Pump and stop that Flamethrower!" I commanded. Swampert shot a torrent of water at Charizard.

The two shots collided and a thick cloud cover.

"Charizard, use Gust to blow away the steam!" Connor commanded. As he said that a strong blast of wind went through, and the clouds cleared. That put Swampert out in the open.

"Swampert, use Blizzard!" I called. Swampert launched his attack, creating a blast of snow, hail and freezing wind that flew toward Charizard.

"Charizard, use Fire Spin to stop that Blizzard in its tracks!" Connor called out. Charizard then began to spin quickly, shooting out fire as he spun. This resulted in a tornado of fire forming around Charizard. Blizzard hit the fire, but wound up doing nothing but melting on contact. Swampert stopped his attack, realizing that it was doing nothing. As he did this, Charizard stopped spinning and opened his wings, breaking the fire tornado apart. If I had been in the audience, I would have been incredibly impressed.

"By the way, Jordan," Connor called. "I have something to show you, and you aren't going to like it." I was confused about what he meant, but then I noticed the marble around Charizard's neck and I saw that it was glowing. "In fact, I have a strong feeling that you will hate me for this!" Connor called out as he took off his jacket, revealing what looked like a wrist watch, but it had a stone similar to the one around Charizard's neck, and it was also glowing. Connor touched the stone in his wristband and a light show began as a circle of light radiated from both his and Charizard's stones. What looked like a rock formed around Charizard, but it quickly broke apart, and when it fell away, Charizard had transformed. He was now mostly black with a blue chest. His wing skin had turned a deep blue and his wings had become more bat-like. His tail flame had gone from orange to blue, and there was even blue flame coming out of his mouth. I then realized just what had happened. Charizard had just mega evolved. He was now part dragon-type, and his power had just increased to what some would call titanic. This evolution would only last for the duration of this battle, but that made almost no difference at this point.

I was in awe. I never believed that I would see Mega Evolution in person, yet here it was in front of me, and I was about to battle with the product of this event. I would have to battle smart and cautiously, or I would find out just how powerful my opponent was now.

I wasted no time starting my attack. "Swampert, use Hydro Pump, NOW!" I commanded. Swampert shot the torrent of water directly at Charizard, but Connor didn't give his Pokémon the command to dodge. Instead, he just smirked and gave his own attack command.

"Charizard, use Dragon Pulse!" he called out. Charizard quickly shot a solid beam of dragon fire at Swampert's attack. The two attacks collided midair and they exploded on contact. I was now confused, Charizard wasn't normally able to use Dragon Pulse, yet sure enough, there was the attack, flying directly at Swampert's Hydro Pump. I thought back to my studies, but I had only scratched the surface of mega evolutions in school, especially since people who could utilize it were incredibly rare, and mega evolution had only just been discovered a few years ago.

"Confused, Jordan?" Connor asked, "Allow me to educate you on this particular Mega Charizard. You see, he has lost his flying type, but has acquired dragon attributes. You really don't stand a chance against this Charizard now, but give it your best shot. Now, Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"

I was frustrated, but then I realized, while my direct attacks may not work as well, I could still defeat Charizard with defenses. Just as Charizard flew in, his claw raised and burning with blue dragon fire, I gave my command. "Swampert, use Counter!"

Just as Charizard got to Swampert, Swampert grabbed both of Charizard's wrists. There was no chance for Charizard to break free as Swampert kicked him in the gut, lifted him overhead, and launched Charizard across the field. Charizard managed to get up, but he seemed more pissed off than injured.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is getting to be an incredible match. I don't think I have ever seen a battle this heated, and Swampert is more than holding his own against Connor's Mega Evolved Charizard. Jordan and Swampert clearly want this victory with all of their hearts, but we shall see who wants this more," the announcer said, although he was clearly running out of things to say.

"Charizard, use Solarbeam!" Connor called out. If this attack landed, it would spell disaster for Swampert, and it would likely end the battle. That, however, would not happen. Charizard gathered solar energy in front of his mouth before launching a solid beam of energy.

"Swampert, Mirror Coat, now!" I called. Swampert's whole body became covered in a silver coating. It absorbed the energy, doing almost no harm to Swampert, before it melted off of Swampert and shot directly at Charizard with twice the force of the original Solarbeam.

"Charizard, use Blast Burn, stop that Mirror Coat before it gets to you!" Connor called out.

I smiled. This was my chance to end this battle, but it was a very risky tactic. "Swampert, use Hydro Cannon!" Swampert reared back and shot a gigantic, and incredibly powerful blast of water directly at Charizard, who had just fired a gigantic ball of fire. The Blast Burn hit Mirror Coat, stopping it from continuing, but it failed to stop Hydro Cannon from flying past without even a slight loss of power.

Connor looked terrified, he had no time to call out a countering attack, and Charizard had just used an attack that required it to rest for a minute, and the attack was coming in too fast for Charizard to dodge it. Charizard took the full force of the Hydro Cannon, which sent it flying into the wall of the arena. Charizard managed to once again get to its feet, but he was much slower at it than the last time. I would have attacked, but now Swampert now need to rest from Hydro Cannon.

Charizard got back into the arena slowly, but he was as determined to win as Swampert and I were, so he stayed strong. By that time, both Charizard and Swampert were fully recovered from their attacks.

"Swampert, use Body Slam, finish this!" I called out.

"Charizard, use Seismic Toss!" Connor called.

Swampert charged at Charizard, shoulder lowered. Just as the attack was about to land, Charizard brought Swampert into a bear-hug, and took flight. Charizard flew in a loop-de-loop five times before plummeting toward the ground at a neck-breaking velocity.

"Swampert, use Hydro Pump on the ground!" I called, knowing that this would slow their descent. Charizard and Swampert both slammed into the ground, but Swampert had timed his attack perfectly. The impact was still powerful, but it was not enough for Swampert to be defeated. He got to his feet, but he was shaking slightly. "Swampert, are you alright to keep battling?" I asked him. Swampert shot me an incredibly confident look as if to tell me that anything to the contrary wasn't an option. We got ready to continue the battle. Connor and Charizard were just as determined as ever, and I could tell that we would be at this for a while.

"Swampert, use Ice Beam!" I commanded. Swampert took no time in launching the tendrils of icy energy directly at Charizard.

"Charizard, get into the air and use Fire Spin!" Connor called. Charizard responded immediately, sending out a jet of blue flame, aiming it at the ground in front of Swampert. Swampert redirected his Ice Beam toward the Fire Spin. The attacks once again collided in midair, exploding on contact and sending both Pokémon back a few feet. Charizard was faster in recovering.

"Now Charizard, use Draco Meteor!" Connor called out. Now it was my turn to be terrified. Garchomp had launched this attack countless times without failure, no matter what attacks were thrown its way, and Charizard was just as powerful as Garchomp, if not more so. I knew I had but one option, and the timing had to be perfect.

Charizard was faster than Garchomp had been in generating the attack, as a gigantic ball of blue dragon fire came plummeting toward Swampert. "Charizard, follow it up with your own Aerial Ace!" Connor commanded. I smirked, and waited until the meteor was less than a yard from Swampert.

"MIRROR COAT, NOW!" I commanded. Swampert immediately became covered in another metallic coating. The entire Draco Meteor attack was absorbed into the Mirror Coat. The metallic skin peeled from Swampert and it fired directly back at Charizard. There was no chance for Charizard to dodge this, because he was moving far too fast. Mirror Coat slammed into Charizard with so much force that it sent the black and blue fire dragon nearly thirty feet into the air.

Charizard stayed there, flapping its wings for a few seconds before its eyes went wide and the fire rushing from its mouth went out. Charizard stopped flying and began to fall toward the ground, and it was clearly out of the fight. I made one last command, but not for an attack. "Swampert, jump toward Charizard and catch him, then use Hydro Pump on the ground," I called. Swampert leapt toward Charizard and angled his head toward the ground before launching a torrent of water at the ground. The two Pokémon landed without much force, but Charizard was down, and it was not going to continue the fight.

"Charizard is unable to battle, the victory goes to Swampert. The winner of this battle is Jordan!" the referee called out.

The crowd went crazy. "UNBELIEVABLE! With the incredible timing of a Mirror Coat, Jordan and Swampert were able to take down Connor's Charizard, but showed incredible compassion by saving Charizard from any further harm! Now the American League has itself a new champion! Congratulations to Jordan Moul for the spectacular victory!"

Connor had Charizard return to its Pokéball. He came over to me. "Well, I never thought I would see the day when my own brother beat me in a Pokémon battle, but it happened. You battled with greater skill than I have seen from any trainer in a long time. By the way, I have something here for you and Swampert," he said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a chain with a stone similar to the one Charizard had worn on it, and a wristband like his, but the stones were different colors. "These are the Mega Evolution stones for Swampert. You should have no trouble using them with the incredible bond you have with Swampert." I took them graciously. I put on the wristband and put the pendant around Swampert's neck.

"I should thank you, Connor," I said.

"What for?" he asked.

"For looking out for me during my journey and keeping me from losing myself when Sarah was in danger," I told him.

He just smiled, "I guess so," he said, but his smile quickly faded.

"What?" I asked

"I don't know what I am going to do now. I mean, I could come back and challenge you for the Champion title again, but then that would start a vicious cycle of us challenging each other. I don't want us to fall into an endless rivalry."

I was about to respond when Sarah came out of the crowd, came up to me, turned me around and kissed me passionately in front of everybody. That elicited a few "Awww's," and couple whistles from the crowd. I didn't care. I had just become the Champion of the American League, and I was in my girlfriend's arms. There was nothing else to me in my mind at that moment. We broke the kiss after a full minute.

"Congratulations Champion. Now, what are you going to do?"

This was a moment I had dreaded. I had decided earlier that I was going to travel around the world, challenging every Pokémon League then I would try to join the League of Legendary Trainers, but I had not figured out how to tell Connor and Sarah this just yet. I looked over to Connor.

"I need to tell you both something. I am not staying in the American Region. Ever since we rescued Sarah, I have wanted to join the League of Legendary Trainers. When I talked to Red at Sarah's shop, he offered me membership if I could defeat the other Pokémon Leagues around the world. I can't pass up this opportunity."

Connor looked confused. "What if another challenger comes for the American League?" he asked.

"Well, then you had better give them a battle they will never forget," I said with a smile.

Both Connor and Sarah were dumbfounded. I had just given Connor back his position by my own choice, and that was unprecedented in the American League.

"How will we see each other?" Sarah asked, clearly upset by this revelation.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to travel with me. If not, then I will come back home every once in a while to see you. After all, I have more than a few Pokémon that know Teleport."

Sarah considered this for a while. "No, my shop just opened and I have gotten more than a few regular customers. I can't leave it unattended without hiring anybody new, and there are no Pokémon breeders nearby who haven't already opened their own stores," she said

I nodded, understanding that she had other obligations, but I knew that when my journey was complete, I would be able to spend every waking moment with Sarah. That was worth the wait, even if it took my entire life to get there.

With that Connor brought both Sarah and I to the Hall of Fame. Inside were multiple portraits of Pokémon Trainers who had gone on to defeat the American League Champion, and there was a blank screen behind a machine with six Pokéball-sized indents.

"Place your Pokéballs into the machine and we shall induct you into the American League Hall of Fame," Connor said. When all of my Pokéballs were in place, a light flashed beneath all of them, and their images were placed on the screen, which sent them toward a blank canvas next to Connor's old portrait. It was a moment of great pride, and one that I would never forget.

Connor put his hand on my shoulder. "Mom and Dad would have been very proud of what you achieved today," he said.

Epilouge

That had been over eight years ago, and since then, I had traveled to all of the Pokémon Leagues in the world, including the famous Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos regions, and I had won in every region. Now, I stood at the base of the Mt. Creshlington. I had overcome so many obstacles, and I had made many friends over the course of my travels. Sarah and I had been dating this entire time, even with the distance, but our love had not wavered during that time. It was time for me to join the League of Legendary Trainers. I had Swampert return to his Pokéball, since I had to climb this mountain without the help of my Pokémon, and I started to walk forward.

It took me the entire day to climb the mountain, but I finally made it to the League's headquarters. It looked like an old ninja hideout, but it was gigantic, and it was structurally sound. I got to the door, and there was a Pokédex reader. I placed mine into the slot for a few seconds before a green light flashed and the doors opened. I removed my Pokédex and walked inside.

It was nearly pitch black inside except for the light that came from the door, but as soon as I entered the door slammed shut and the lights came on. Red stood at the opposite end of the room with his back to me. He had longer hair than he did when we last met, but otherwise he looked the same as ever.

"Welcome newcomer, I am…"

"Red, I know, we met almost eight years ago," I said.

Red turned around when I said that. "Well, what do you know? It's Jordan! I was wondering when you would get here."

"Well, it takes time to travel the entire world. If I remember correctly, you offered me membership if I came here having won in every region, and so I have," I said.

"Yes, I remember that day. I will say that I left out one small detail about admittance."

"And that is?"

"A one-on-one Pokémon battle" he said as he reached for a Pokéball on his belt and nodded at me, indicating for me to do the same.

I grabbed Swampert's Pokéball and both Red and I threw our Pokéballs at the same time. With that, our battle began. Red had chosen his Charizard, and his looked like it was much stronger than Connor's had ever been. I saw that Red's Charizard had the same type of Mega Evolution stone as Connor's had been holding so long ago, but this time I was ready.

I touched the Mega Stone for Swampert on my wristband just as Red did for Charizard. Swampert wound up becoming much larger, with gigantic forearms, three black fins on his head, his cheek spikes had grown much longer, and his wrists were encircled with orange, armored bulges. Red's Charizard finished mega-evolving at the same time as Swampert.

"Swampert, use Hydro Pump!" I commanded.

"Charizard, dodge it and use Fire Blast!" Red called.

We battled harder than we ever had before for nearly an hour. After that both Swampert and Charizard were too tired to continue, and the match had to be declared a draw. We both recalled our Pokémon, and Red came over to me.

"Congratulations Jordan. You are now a member of the League of Legendary Trainers, and you are officially a Pokémon Master." He took me on a tour, and I spoke to all of the other trainers, and all of them greeted me as an old friend.

"Will you be taking up residency here, or do you have other plans?" Red asked when the tour was complete.

I smiled, "I will be staying in Bath Town. I have something very important to do."

Red nodded, knowing exactly what I meant. "Well, then I have a something here for you." He took out a cell phone. "This is the League's contact method. If we ever have an emergency, or if we just want to challenge one another, then we will call you immediately and tell you where to go from there," he said.

"Thank you Red, say hello to the others for me, would you?" I said.

"Absolutely, take care of yourself now." When he said that, I went out of the building the same way I came in, and I began my journey back to Bath Town.

I walked for nearly two days before I arrived. I immediately went home to bathe and got dressed in a suit I had bought in Lumiose City in the Kalos region to prepare for what I was about to do. I was more nervous than I had ever been before, but I calmed myself when I got to Sarah's shop. I entered without hesitation. Sarah's business had grown greatly since she had opened it, and there were more than a few employees, who almost didn't see me.

"Jordan, Welcome!" one of them, whose nametag said his name was Brock. "Sarah is out back with her Meganium."

"Thank you Brock," I said. I decided that Swampert should share in this moment as well, since he had been with Sarah, Chikorita, and I since we first left Bath Town on our Pokémon journeys. Together my Pokémon and I went into the garden, where I saw the woman of my dreams and her Meganium tending to a garden.

"Sarah!" I called. She stood up and turned toward me, with a beautiful smile.

"Jordan, how have you been? And where did you get that beautiful suit?" she asked.

"This is from Lumiose City, and I have never been better, but I am hoping that today will be the best day of my life. You see, ever since we went our separate ways in Char City, while I have achieved so much, it seemed pointless without you there, and my journey throughout the world would have been so much better had I gone with you by my side," I said. She looked slightly confused, so I answered her question before she could ask it. I pulled out the small jewelry box that had also come from Lumiose City, and I got down on one knee. "Sarah, I love you more than anybody else in the entire world, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. Will you marry me?" I asked as I opened the box, revealing a sparkling, pure gold and diamond ring.

Sarah had tears of joy in her eyes, and her hands were cupped in front of her mouth, in a futile attempt to hide her smile. "Yes," she said. "Yes, with all of my heart, I will marry you." I put the ring onto her finger and we shared our most passionate kiss yet. We had been through every danger together, and now we would face the rest of life's challenges together, and while there would be tough times ahead, I was not scared, because Sarah and our Pokémon would be there for us every step of the way.


End file.
